Rotaroto: A River can flow strangly
by Headphone-Headache
Summary: Chaos subdued in Ikebukuro, but it is starting to raise to the surface in Europe, where a exchange cop from Washington is arriving. While he's adapting to his new home, Ruri and Kasuka are finding out that trouble can lurk in the shadows, even outside Ikebukuro. Follow a new crew of unusual citizens, while an eccentric doctor and his crew is visititng the city too.
1. As Calm as the Weather seems

Attention:

This is for the fans who can't get enough the absurd cast of Durarara! and who enjoys the chaotic mess that life can be. The story takes place after Durarara!, but before the sequels.

Enjoy yourself and get lost in a whole cast of OCs, while the chaos is unfolding itself.

Chapter 1: As Calm as the Weather seems...

_At airport Schiphol…_

"Thanks for flying with Dutch Air Lines, we wish you a good time in the Netherlands and have a nice day," the speakers said, the airplane has stopped at the right gate at the airport. The passengers were in their usual mood, which was not too optimistic as they had some turbulence on their flight.

_I have never experienced a jetlag before, but I didn't get a good lunch during the flight, they sure putted me on the cheapest airplane._

A man in his early 20s walked together with the crowd and it appeared that he symbolized the term of personal space, everyone else stood away from him at least a half meter. It didn't seem odd to him, because he was used to this kind of behaviour around him.

_It would never be different, not even at the end of the world._

Pale, tall and a languid aura, that's how he was described by his colleagues over in Washington DC. It was the nicest version of it, normally he would get described much harsher, much ruder. The capital of the United States didn't like him, just as everyone else around him.

Not human, other-worldly, eerie and cold, these terms were used much more often by people, who saw him and were used to judge only on someone's appearance. He could forgive other-worldly, it was the only word that he could turn into a positive compliment, it had something serenity to it.

_I have never done something wrong, why does they want me far away, in a miserable country of farmers, waiting to be overthrown by the sea? The only reason I could think off, is that it's far enough away from them, and if the water resistances break of this country, then they are not responsible for my death._

He observed his own miserable face in the glass of the window next to him, which he had done so many times, that even a computer couldn't comprehend it. With a face as pale as his, it wasn't a welcoming face, his eyes were lying deep in his skull and were looking to the outside world as two black holes, sucking every bit of light into his eyes. He wore a cold expression on his face, it was the natural result of the comments he got from all kind of folks.

He knew the answer to his thought and clenched his fist, he would leave scratches behind on his skin, but he had no healed wounds from the previous times he did it.

_I knew it, because they see me as a monster, I am too terrifying for them._

His focus turned to the landscape outside, this was going to be his new home. It was cloudy and gloomy and it was going to rain today without a doubt. The season of Autumn was announced and it will become cold in the nights, even as far as getting frost on the ground.

While walking through the halls of Schiphol, the well-known airport next to Amsterdam, everyone kept their distance from him as he wore the plague like in the Middle Ages. Everyone in his surroundings swore to stay out of contact with him, hoping to not breath the same air as him. It was a miserable type of isolation, that strangely comforts him.

"Should I help you with your case?", one of the airport's employees asked to help him, while he was waiting on his baggage, which prepared him for the first weeks in his new home.

_They only ask because of the fact that they must be polite, not because they really care about any of the customers. It's a straight act, anyone knows that._

Sure, he looked thin, fragile and weak, but at least his muscles were trained a bit at the Police Academy over the United States.

"Thanks for the offering, but I can do it by myself," he responded.

His voice was always causing a paradox in this universe. He sounded calm, but above all sweet and charming, even with the baritone voice which he inherited from his father. If a total stranger, who was unaware of his looks, would call him on the phone, the person would imagine a completely different picture of him, which was much nicer. Stylish, well-behaved and even the impression of him coming from royal blood. However, even with that of a comforting voice, his colleagues would tease him by saying that it wasn't his real voice, that it was a camouflage for the assumed shady thing he did in his spare time.

_There will be nobody to wait for me, nobody will ever meet a person with such an appearance like mine at the arrival hall._

His full-packed case with a colourful label, which was the only optimistic and cheerful thing belonging to him, moved before him on the belt and got lifted by his right hand, while the left hand was hiding in his pocket.

_It shall be time for me to figure out in which direction I must head to go for that old city. The name sounded like it was all misery out there, they chose the right city for me. At least, in their eyes._

He took his first step into the arrival hall, calm and without expectations. They crowd was going their own way, nobody cared about him and through his scope, nobody will.

"Hey you there!", a friendly voice called him over a distance of at least twenty meters. He was picked out of the crowd like he was the only alien on this earth. He thought that he could hide himself with his length as the people over here in Europe tends to be taller, especially this small country.

_All right, here we go with the nasty comments, I am already used to it and it would never change._

"Are you Uthan Calem? The exchange cop from the police department of Washington DC?"

A matured man, past the milestone of 50 years, was waiting for him and greeted him without any suspicion. It seems he cared for himself, due to the absence of a beard or other hair features on his face.

_Is this a trap? It sure must be. He seems to be well experienced, he must be a veteran of his profession, a man with a good and authorial reputation, why do they send a cop like him? It's a waste for him to wait on a rookie like me._

"How are you feeling, you must be tired after a flight like that. I won't mention the jetlag you must have, I guess you want some sleep, am I right?"

Uthan's expression change for a while, he was silent and could barely talk. The man had putted much more care into his words than the employees here, so these words must be honest.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Gerard Bronsma."

He observed the exchange cop and immediately got the request from the man if he could carry his case, so that he could get some rest.

"It's fine, I can carry it by myself," he responded friendly, sensing a suspicious tone in his voice.

"In that case, I'll leave it to you, however, it would be better if we take the upcoming train, so let's hurry. The ride itself would be twenty minutes, so take a small nap if you can," the man responded in a down-to-earth manner. The words didn't sound like a compliment, more like a friendly invitation.

_That's where we are going to, you want for me to take a nap and steal my case when I close my eyes, I won't fall twice into that trap._

His mind produced none other than suspicion to the veteran, but his heart felt something that he didn't got in a long time. His words were completely genuine and kind, the words dug up Uthan's old feeling of coming home, returning to your own nest.

The conflict in him, stroke him immediately as odd, which should be the correct feeling for this conversation. For almost every people on earth, this would be a normal chat, speaking to someone else, treating the other as an ordinary human. The frightening or astonishing responses he normally would get, have grown to him and were almost replacing the natural reactions and behaviours of people.

_Well, I can't do nothing else then relying on him for a small time, hopefully won't I regret it._

While they rushed through the escalators, he was starting to confuse himself with all the little chit chats around him, which were held in a language he couldn't understand. His English trained ears and brains, were always on their guard over in Washington, unconscious searching for insults and comment on his looks. Over here, his brain got frightened by the uncertainty of the words the people around him were communicating with, like if they used a secret code to put insults and comments towards him, that he couldn't understand.

He focused himself on the bits that were similar to him and started forming a context around the rest of it, which made the language less scary to him, so that he could relax a bit.

"It seems you're startled by the language we speak. Don't worry, you get used to it, slowly," his new colleague said with a little smile on his face. Though, he gave good advice to him, adapting was the keyword. A new environment, a new fresh start with new chances and opportunities were heading for him, alongside with new challenges and events to overcome.

_It would be great if I will get a new day routine, something more normal, something less difficult to withstand._

He held his train ticket at hand. From the huge unknown he had of this low country, he will go to a place, a city which he heard of, though, not for the best or touristic reasons.

_At a bar, somewhere in the city..._

"I have seen people drinking a lot, so I know that you are approaching the lethal alcohol dose very quickly. I just gave you a warning."

As a bartender, he did have seen a lot of weird customers; from high demanding individuals with 'refined' tastes, not noticing the low quality they actually drank to people who were desperate to drink themselves lame and due to that believed that the tap water he gave them, was the highest alcohol percentage he could legally give to them.

_Normally, her personality, the type she embodies, would be praised, but I highly doubt it because of her._

He looked with a smiling face to her, while being slightly annoyed, which he successfully hided from his guests.

The lady he was looking at, was in her 30s and was sitting at the bar across the bartender, who held a keen eye on her drinking behaviour. She wore an expensive purple coat of fur and appeared to be seductive at least. Combining that with her face, which was covered under a large amount of make-up and her long sharp nails, then the conclusion would be that she was a femme fatal: A woman with the beautiful features of her kind, while using them in the most deadly and lethal ways a man could ever imagine.

"Live is a hell, if you aren't tortured by your own body, then your own mind will take the responsibility and doing it even worse," she stated without much thought. Alcohol was known for making the tongues of the admitters loose, spouting a lot of confident information about themselves or taboos about sensitive issues.

"You can't escape it with alcohol, but it would make your torture more comfortable." The last drop of liquid from her current glass, fell on her purely red tong and waited to be devoured and consumed.

The bartender knew the beast she was and this was only her second visit to this particular bar. All kind of folks, from the most ordinary office workers to the top notch of the illegal organizations, called her kind _kroegtijgers_, which description is closely resembling a pub dweller. It wasn't an accurate representation, though, even he knew that well.

_Kroegtijgers_ weren't just people who wanted to become drunk and were crumbling from one pub to the next. Instead, their kind came to cafés, pubs and bars to complain about their lives: their struggles, their failures, the overall unfairness of reality and the harshness of this world. Though, they also shared their feelings of love, joy or nostalgia to the guests, contained in a told story made out of their own experiences.

Veterans of this kind of people, even touched the philosophical and supernatural sides of live. Their stories and poems were well loved, when guests told these poetries to their own children, filling them with almost ancient wisdom.

As miserable as they seemed, some people suggested and theorized that these were the only kind who found real happiness in their lives.

_I hope she will leave the bar alive tonight; I don't like to have a silent and lifeless corpse in my workplace._

The whole atmosphere of the bar shifted, when an almost daily guest opened the door. The man who was known in the neighbourhood for questionable reasons, had as expected an intimidating and tall posture. It was marked together with his odd appearance in a single vacation blouse as a person of the extra-ordinary. His footsteps were equally heavy as these from giants and his hands were vast in grab width.

"Sure, it won't go always as planned," he responded to the lady's complain with a low bass and took a seat at the bar.

The guests were waiting for a couple of seconds and after that, they regained their normal habit of chatting.

"Live is like a rollercoaster, with ups and downs, but the course you will take isn't planned in the slightest. That said, I will advise everyone to force their own path."

The faces of the lady and the bartender turned to the voice, one did it with astonishment, the other with the joy of seeing him again.

"Sorry, if I'm late," the man apologized, while he was shaking his head to dry his completely soaked hair. The world outside the windows showed a dark and cold place, where the rain came to earth with a dazzling speed.

"As usual, your glass with excellent whisky for Scotland?", the bartended asked him friendly and as a good friend.

"Sure Edwin, it seems you haven't forgotten me."

The femme fatal heard the conversation and was still stunned by the remarkable appearance of the arrived guest, who only wore a pair of slippers, a short colourful pair of pants and a typical holiday blouse from Hawaii.

_See her, even her kind can be amazed by certain ordinary thing, it's just a matter of perspective._

He dried her glass, while watch her with a smirk on his face, one out of friendship, even when he didn't know her for real.

They share a lot of information about themselves, but they managed to keep the air of mystery around them, hiding tiny bits of the unknown for themselves.

_What's their reason to rant about this world, what drives them to complain and consume massive amounts of alcohol?_ The bartender questioned himself in his thoughts and diverged from her to the tall man next to her.

"Do I bother you if I called you by your first name? It's kind of difficult to keep inventing new titles for a man like yourself."

It seemed to be just a simple request at first glance, but the quivering eyes of the other guests gave a deeper insight into the man's history.

"Of course, I am not bothered, you know me now for almost five years and you know my full name, so just use it."

The tourist look-a-like gave him a blink, which was interrupted by his mobile phone.

"Excuse me, I got a client," he spoke and walked to the toilets for some silence.

_He's always busy, I wonder if that is the reason why he dresses himself lightly all the time, the whole year through. At least, it seems he isn't doing it for the money, though._

After that, a second ring tone began to play and this time, the _kroegtijger_ looked to her phone and smiled.

"I didn't expect to have a client on this hour, but it seems that I need to entertain some lonely business man. Normally, he would call me earlier, but that doesn't bother me," she explained and walked to the lady's toilet for some privacy.

_She said it with a smile, I wonder if she does it for the money or that she really enjoys her work._

For the bartender, the drive wasn't the easy money you could make from drunken people, who didn't have control over their behaviours. However, he did it for the connections you can get with strangers, the bonds you could share with them and the stories they told. From this perspective, he treasured his own _kroegtijger_, while still having conflicting feelings about her presence.

_In the sky, between Japan and Europe..._

"Normally, they would put another sequel out with this success. If that was the case, I would let your manager Uzuki handle it. However, a friend of mine, got as a director a huge opportunity to make a more creative and personal movie. Anyway, it's always great to see more things and cultures from around the world and above!"

His voice and stance were like that from child with a huge imagination and no restrains in his vision, the illusion that his dreams could shape the reality of life. His ambition was the soul-purpose he lived for, which made him even more eccentric, next to his blond afro hairstyle, sunglasses and his white tuxedo, that last one made him look like a mass murderer for some unknown reason.

His private airplane was bringing them to their newest destination and the scouting agent, who was also the president of the Japanese department of the Jack O'Lantern Talent Agency, Max Sandshelt, was going through the roof with his imagination. He normally would stand of in Tokyo while his most prominent talents were going to shine in a movie, but the director of the film was an old friend of him, so he gave the manager a long vacation and headed self towards the film set.

"It's fine to go away and explore the outside world, but family is important too. I had to blow a weekend with my older brother for this and he surely will be pissed off because of it," a calm, almost monotone voice responded. The man who replied was sitting at the opposite side of the room in the airplane and was wearing a cold faced expression. A beautiful woman with an other-worldly aura around her, was sleeping on his shoulder.

"Honey-chan, since when are you so upset about it? You are going to be away for just two or three months."

The president used this nick name all the time at which point it became a daily routine.

The cold man was an actor and fans knew him under the name of Yuuhei Hanejima. He was, however, registered as Kasuka Heiwajima and the last three movies where he played in made quite the box office. He was critically praised for the excellent performance and fans were eager to see another movie, featuring him as one of the main characters.

While he was happy and satisfied by it, knowing the work wasn't done for nothing, his face remained cold-hearted. It was hard to believe that he could act in a movie, but it was his profession.

"I hope that both of you will do a good performance, if it will be good if this movie will such as good as your last one, maybe the international industry will get interest in you."

The white suited president of the talent agency was almost completely covered under the script, which was already written, but there were still coming little adjustments to the script, so it was hard for him to tell the different versions apart from them. He wondered if it was better to distribute them digitally, the internet had done some wonderful things.

_Oh man, they seemed not completely satisfied with the story and I hope the location is already set up. Of course, we're still getting paid for this film, but it's much better if the work itself is pleasant. I can't anger him about crappy work conditions._

The pretty lady woke up, opened her eyes and saw the president struggling with the papers, while he was still wearing an enthusiastic expression. Her hair didn't fit perfect and the hairband she wore, wasn't that effective for holding it together.

She was lightly shocked when Max face, moved in a fast and energetic way before her. She knew him now for almost a year, but she still wasn't used to his eccentric behaviours.

"It would be an eye opener for you, for as much as you like the monsters in movies, I can guarantee you will like his staff and it will be a fabulous never forgetting experience!"

Kasuka was worried about her, that she felt uncomfortable because of Sandshelt's way of doing things and expressing himself in the most over-the-top fashion.

"However, I still don't understand why you wanted an athletic role, I thought you have once said that you're not athletic or strong at all," Max brought a topic up and it made the lady, who sat next to him, by coincidence nervous.

She as Ruri Hijiribe and Heiwajima knew that her fans didn't believe her at all and fortunately speculated that she was stating that to increase her popularity, nobody has ever thought of a secret that was much scarier than they ever could fantasize. She was from origin not an actress, but a sculpture artist, who was spotted by a scouting agency, who turned her into a model and idol.

She was rather the opposite of what she had stated during that interview, she was remarkable stronger and more athletic than a normal untrained person of her age would be. Now she will play an active and strong female detective with great agility, so when people would ask her about her strength, she could use the movie as an excuse. She could say that she had trained for the role and that it made her stronger.

While she had fixed her own past in term of traumas and found a few friends, when she lived in Ikebukuro, she felt a sense of loneliness. There was an issue with her that made her an exclusive person, a category where she could place only herself in, together with one other person.

_What have I said to her? Oh gosh, I hope she won't leave the agency after this movie, Honey-chan really liked her presence. He didn't give any facial hint for that statement to be real, but there are other ways to read someone._

Even between himself and Kasuka, there wasn't that much communication through talking. When Hijiribe joined the company, Max noticed that these two got the same interaction towards him, they communicated almost only with slight changes in gestures, the short soft-spoken comments they made, were minor things for them, additions to their voiceless speech. It was that particular thing that convinced him of his impression of them being good actors, they almost nailed the art of minimal acting.

"However, maybe this would be the chance to break through on the international market, you could be famous around the world."

The expressions on their faces told him enough, a simple and gently no. The idol's face was slightely shocked about his comment, the actor's one was still the same and would always be.

"I think we rather prefer only a national popularity. I hope the rumor that you Americans, choose money and fame over family and friends, isn't true," Kasuka added a genuine response to him, while worrying about Ruri. Although she was an idol, she didn't have known blood relatives anymore. However, she has found some friends where she had bumped into by accident, starting with Kasuka's older brother, Shizuo.

Apparently, after Kasuka spoke about him, she was lucky with the timing and had only heard of the time when _The Strongest Man of Ikebukuro_ couldn't control and restrain himself.

"The truth is much more complicated than just choosing between those two, it's more like a survival game for us, if I am honest about it," Max replied with a completely different tone than before, his comment was rather serious.

_In the train who is heading for his destination..._

"Hey, dreamer, wake up!"

Gerard poked lightly in the belly of his new partner. He didn't know how much Uthan's stomach could handle. As a veteran of the police, he had seen many different and unique body types, with differences in strength and other physical related stuff. He himself wasn't that strong anymore, his body already had celebrated his Abraham mile stone, the event when you have lived 50 years, and due to that, his body began to rust.

This would be for him just a small trip back to the streets, before he stopped once and for all with patrolling in the city. He spent nowadays most of his time behind a table, talking with young delinquents about their future. He chose for the police, because he wanted to help people, so now he assisted young beginning criminals to bring them on the right path, to follow a more stable and less dangerous career. He was most worried about them due to executions happening on the streets, in the front of the eyes of citizen, who had nothing to do with the criminals. Even when you've done something wrong in your life or has hurt others, that didn't mean that you must die for it.

"Are we almost there?", Uthan asked with a sleepy voice. His eyes were half closed and seemed almost dead to Gerard.

_It looks that he is a rather interesting individual, he seems almost dead, but he keeps on living and moving. How would his life look like?_

"Don't make jokes, I've told you that it would only take twenty minutes, the Netherlands is a small dense country you know."

Uthan opened his eyes further and seemed to be amazed by the city itself. The train was moving with a comfortable speed, which made it for Uthan easy to observer the sky line of the city, a huge modern bridge and flats were filling the horizon.

"The country itself is almost 300 years old in the current form, but that doesn't say that there aren't modern cities here in the Netherlands."

The train station where they arrived in, was a vast open building with glass all over the walls. The slightest beam of sunlight could brighten the place in a wonderous fashion. There were screens with arrival and departure information on every platform and the huge bus station was in your two-minute reach.

In the big hall, there was a whole row with electronic gates, where everyone equally could check in, from salesmen busy with their telephones and business deals to a group of friends who have shopped in the streets of the city and were laughing about a terrible joke one of them made.

"The city got the biggest harbour of Europe, there was even a time when the city was ranking as number one on the world list, before China took the whole top ten list," Gerard stated, while he gave Uthan his bus card.

_Life is full of small, but wonderous things, discovering a new big city like this is one of these small bits of fascination._

"The whole city looks so modern," Gerard's new partner said. Uthan thought that every European city was old. Europe got a much longer history than the United States and due to that, the European cities were much older. So why was this city all this modern, there doesn't seemed any old building in the surroundings?

"Well see, in the second world war, the city got almost completely bombed by the Germans, only the cathedral is still standing and now it reminds people about the awful times of the past."

Gerard guided him through the city by bus and told small facts about this enormous place, even when it was small compared to New York, his own place Washington or even Las Vegas and Boston. This city held less than one million people, but the impression that Uthan got made it seemed like a vast metropolis.

"I will explain a little bit of our work, you and me are going to do field work in neighbourhood alongside the river. We will serve almost as persons which people can chat with and report incidents to, so that we can call headquarters for assistance, understood?", Gerard said and was looking to Uthan for an answer.

However, Uthan was quiet, almost silent and was only interested in the city itself, instead of the police work.

_Even on the grand scale, small cities like this can amaze people who comes from a place where almost everything is bigger, I wonder how long he would have interest in this city_

It was already dinner time when they arrived in their new neighbourhood and so, Gerard treated him on a meal in a small restaurant with a homey feel. He even joked about the fact that Dutch people would call the mood _gezellig_, a word with no good translation to English and most other languages. The closest that Gerard could describe, with his rather small English vocabulary, was that it was the term for a mood, where social interactions between were going smoothly and without fraction.

With the unknown words, Uthan had decided to just choose a random plate with an unfamiliar name. The restaurants here had still the usual hamburgers, French fries and rib-eyes, but especially the plates with vegetables, were unknown to him.

_Well, there are even dishes that we can't explain by ourselves and our culinary kitchen isn't that divers either. However, it still can give people some shocking facts about their own cultural background._

When they were finished with their meals, it was already late and the crescent moon was lighting the streets. Uthan had stated that he enjoyed his plate of smashed potatoes mixed with small pieces of apple, but he doubts if he could eat the brown meaty sauce that Gerard had by his dish of smashed potatoes.

"I will go back to my own home, so I will give this to you," Gerard concluded their talk and gave Uthan a piece of paper with an address unfamiliar to him, this was where his apartment was, where he could sleep, eat and spend his spare time in his days off.

"See you tomorrow, just take your time, we don't expect you on the office on half eight, you could make it as late as you want to." The veteran said goodbye and closed the door of the restaurant behind him.

_We have talked a lot about trivial things and the news, but he didn't start to tell about his personal life, I wonder why._

He felt his stomach having trouble with the amount of food he consumed during the dinner. The desert seemed to didn't mix very well with his plate. There were various solutions for a problem like this and so he decided to take a glass by a homey café that he knew of.


	2. Unknown

Chapter 2: Unknown

_At the dock of the Huysman Harbour Company..._

"I've checked the terrain, everyone is off, nobody is here," an employee shouted to his colleague, who was standing at the gate of the dock. His voice was rough, he had smoked in his live and while has stopped with it, he still was regretting the choice he made. A stubble beard showed that he hasn't shaved for a few days, but he was determent to make it smooth again, tomorrow.

_That's great, so nobody would get hurt or drown with the misty weather of tonight._

Police work, security guard or bodyguard, three professions with a lot of similarities, who diverted themselves with the reasons of their work.

The police are like watch dogs, loyal to the law of their owner, the government. While doing that, the diversity of personalities was immense and resulted that every watch dog got still his own will to decide. The working place and the salary, weren't that important for these folks. Protection and service, their ideals for justice, these were the forces for working as a police officer.

Security guards were more like henchmen, at least that's the way they see themselves. Following orders from a manager to protect property or information. They care about the money and the salary and they even acted as consumers, if another corporation offered them a better salary, then they will transfer. However, they were also aware of the protection they gave to others, helping them to navigate through a dangerous fabric or guiding them on a vast and busy building place. It was still one of their core values together with the reason of a good paying job, unless bodyguards, who they despised.

Bodyguards are only protecting the property, they were completely aware of the danger that the job carried, but they didn't care about their own safety, only that of the property. Living dolls, whose safety can be sacrificed, that's how security guards looked to this overly serious kind of people. They secured the safety of just one person, obeying him without a single thought and they didn't care about anyone else. How more you got of them, how more of an asshole you must be, because he needed them to keep your self-made enemies away.

"Okay, take cup of coffee and enjoy the mystical atmosphere around the dock. The mist is thick tonight, so keep an eye out!", the colleague shouted back. They weren't just colleagues, employees of the same company, they were partners or even friends.

The guard switch the radio to another channel, not a main channel, though. It was one of the advantages a security guard had over the police, they don't have to follow the law of the country in some regards. They weren't bound to it and due to that, their kind listened almost all the time to pirates on the radio. They didn't hijack people or vehicles, the only things they stole were band widths, which were used by the police for communication through their walkie-talkies.

Some people would call them nuisances, others would claim that they could cost lives under the right circumstances, disturbing the signal during an emergency. However, at average, these radio channels were Easter eggs for the police, it would be fine if they found one, a group of amateurs who were playing their old, enjoyable and odd songs on the air.

Security and the police have both the same energy source. Some people called it _life blood_, others gave it the name of _human oil_ or _black gold_, but it was resembling their essence, their life force: coffee.

"Bernard, should we bet on the soccer match of tomorrow?", his colleague asked. His friend was dressed more in winter clothes and was already wearing a scarf around his neck. He wasn't used to the cold rainy weather and climate, like his partner was.

"You are wasting your money, you know that Joey," Bernard commented like a teacher, when he was returning to his cozy seat in the small building. He took a newspaper and was continually switching between the gate and the latest reports from around the world.

"It's good to take some risks," the colleague joked, while still meaning what he said.

"Then it would be one-sided, if it happened that it will be tie, then you get 20 euros, okay?", he proceeded with his bet.

Bernard, who didn't understand the reason for his friend's offer, murmured a little bit to himself and decided:

"All right, but no complains if it turns out that Ajax wins."

_Why would he offer me a deal which will turn out negative for him? However, he is and remains a weird, but enjoyable guy._

His eyes were reading articles about all kind of events, a cat who was rescued from the tree by a police man, celebrities who got scandals to solve or the discovery of a new specie on the floor of the ocean. Stories about events that could happen to yourself or things who weren't mundane, whose had an extremely small chance to see.

But to Bernard, it didn't happen and he was happy with his normal life, even at work, it was quiet and peaceful. His eyes stared to the outside, the wasn't nothing strange going on. The mist was thick, but at least he knew nobody was wondering on the dock.

_There are some weird shapes above the dock, it looks like someone is walking there. _

As foggy as it was, he thought that he saw a silhouette on the dock. He could be fired if someone gets hurt or even worse, drown. He still cared about the lives of others; he was a security guard partly for that reason. He grabbed without noticing his flash light and decided to go outside, the harsh bundle of light was widening his view just a little bit.

"What's up? Have you seen something?", his colleague asked with a thick accent, you sure could hear that he wasn't born in this country, but his grammar and vocabulary were perfectly fine.

His question got cancelled by the mist and never reached the target. However, while it got muted out by the fog, a shock was going through Bernard's body.

_What am I seeing here, is this true? Isn't it just another one of them?_

The silhouette got more detailed, it appeared to be girl, probably a teenager. As a matter of fact, he started to worry, because she was way of the grid, normally she would fall into the water. A wave of goose bumps started to form when he didn't see her anymore, has she drowned?

_Why am I continuing reacting to this, they are all the same, there are no differences, aren't they?_

"It seemed you have seen something, your whole body looks like if it's frozen," his friend yelled at him and this time, the mist was letting the message through.

"You're right, I shall check the dock, want to be sure," he replied, while walking to the dock itself. Himself was completely sure of what he just saw, while his comrade was shrouded in mystery about the event that Bernard just witnessed.

_I am still divided about it; must I believe it or not. Could the therapist be in the wrong? Could it be true all the time?_

_In a luxurious apartment in the neighbourhood..._

_There's nothing special on television tonight._

The screen changed to black, due to the cause of her pressing the on and off button on the remote controller. She had zapped through the channels, but even the channels who were famous for airing crazy conspiracy theories at this time of the night, seemed to have a break.

_Well, as long as I get paid for the job, I will put myself together and will continue to endure the suffer of the boredom of reality. Mom's teaching seemed to be true, life sucks somethings, especially when you are working._

She plumped on the luxurious bench, her brown wild hair was swarming all over the handrail, while her stale expression of boredom was forming on her face. Eyes as brown of the leather of the high-quality bench, were looking to the ceiling, trying to wonder off to another universe.

_What kind of superpower should I have? I like these unique ones, these who are getting a lot of explanation about what sets them apart, what their limits are and how they could be used in combat. I really would like a be a superhero, or at least a crime fighting job._

However, her job was babysitting, or it was better to state that she looked after the kids, while the parents were working or had some other things to do. She knew that she couldn't complain, tonight's client was a returning one and a loyal payer too. She liked the stable income, which she got from him and got befriended with the child at the point at which bedtime was for herself the end of the world, the time when boredom began.

_I have nothing to read, he got books, but the language is unfamiliar to me and his television got no extra features, such as playing videos._

The sound of the comforting doorbell made her curious, her client would be back at two o'clock, but the clock at the wall told her that it was just eleven.

_I don't hear Stefana crying, so it couldn't be one of the neighbours who wanted to complain about her. For the post or packages is it almost cruelly late and even collectors for funds won't ring the bell this late._

The thing which she knew for sure, was the fact that there was somebody before the door, someone where she could talk with. With this certainty, which was the simplest thing a person could figure out by themselves, she headed to door for a little chat, between her and a total stranger.

"Who's there?", she asked with her most intimidating voice, she coughed due to the shaping of her own voice.

"Sorry to bother you," a voice replied straight out of heaven.

_I can't imagine it, I thought I would never encounter this trope by myself, but as it sounds now, it maybe could happen. _

_Is this the dream prince on the white horse from the fairy tales that I know? Is this the charming vampire who will ambush me to suck my blood and will turn me into a vampire too, with all the awesome superpowers? Or is this a famous actor who incidentally got lost in the street of this neighbourhood and just wanted to ask the way to his hotel? How should I look like if I was a famous model?_

Whether these assumptions were true or not, her cheeks were turning red of these thoughts.

_Stay focused, maybe this is a trap or horrible prank from a television show. Could it be a secret agency from the government who will kidnap me for human experiments? Or will it be an alien who will abduct me and bring me to the end of the universe?_

She shook her head, clapped her cheeks and tried to stay focused. She looked around her for items to defend herself with and opened the door a bit, while her other hand held an umbrella which she had found. For a short moment, their eyes met.

_At least he got the face of a vampire, but he's definitely not one. These creatures will bite me automatically, this is disappointing._

The pale skinny face she encountered broke almost all her fantasies, the slender body wasn't as masculine as she had imagined and these facts about the person before her shattered her dreams about the prince of her dreams.

"Can you tell me if this is the right building? I just arrived in less than a day and I am exactly not very good at navigating."

That was the sentence that the person wanted to convey, so he had simplified the question to almost elementary school level English. He seemed to be unsure if everyone could speak English here.

"Sure, do you have a map or an address, something to give me a clue about your destination?", she responded in an astonished fashion. She was still divided about the stranger, she knew that it was unadvised to open the door this late, but the person seemed to be acting normal and his voice was sweet as heck.

_It seemed to be funny, such a face and such a lovely voice, everyone would want to have sex with him, only because of his voice._

The man seemed to be surprised by the amount of fluency with which she spoke and answered that he had an address and a key to navigate with. With the information and the kindness of the person, she had the bravery and the confidence to open the door completely.

"Thanks, is this the Rosenveldtstraat? An acquaintance of mine told me the general way, but I have some difficulties with the confusing street names," the man explained, while he was sunken in the letters of the paper he held in his left hand.

She was neatly brought up and so, she looked the man in the eyes.

_I don't know what's going on with me, but I can divert my eyes anymore from him._

Her eyes were stuck and captivated by the blackness of the gentleman's eyes. She stared and started to wonder if there was another universe in his head. The deep ingrained holes of his skull almost hypnotized her.

"Eh…"

She didn't know what to say to this entity before her and her face obtained a new awkward expression that she never had before. Her silence drove the attention to her and now, the man was staring at her.

"Even here, it isn't different," the entity murmured with disappointment, while he let his head rest for a bit.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. However, you've got the correct street, which number do you have?"

_Stay nice and smile, otherwise you could be eaten and if that was the case, Stefana could be in danger too. I am maybe not a superhero, but at least I can protect her from him, this nice gentle person._

Her consciousness noticed the contradiction in her logic and punished her by letting her body thrilled like if she was on the south pole. Instead of speaking, the man gave her his piece of paper. While she was reading it, she didn't let her eyes of his face for a long time and smiled as hard as she could.

"I see, you're the new one on the second floor, take the stairs and you will encounter door number 14 at your left side, that's yours," she explained to the man and stood calm, while adrenaline was added to her blood stream.

_Have I done the right thing? Won't he get angry or furious and go completely berserk, tearing me into bits?_

"Thanks for the help," the pale faced man said with a neutral stand and took as told the stairs.

She herself closed the door quickly and failed to prevent the slam. She held her hand by her chest, the descending tempo of her heartbeat calmed her.

_What's going on with him? He gave such a nice and gentle impression. No, I have chosen the wrong words, behaved and handsome, these are right. My heart only started to beat faster when my brain commands it, it felt like if the stressed and relaxed states of my being were fighting for domination over my own body._

After two minutes of processing the experience she just witnessed, her mind decided to chill with a glass of soda and plumped her body on the bench, again.

_On a wet street where you could have a private and secretive conversation..._

"Did you get that strange Victorian pocket watch, which I have ordered?"

In the deepest of the night, at the time where the temperature was on her lowest, a meet up between two people began. A meet up for information about a specific object. The street was almost empty, the last cat wandered back to his warming home, while the mist was shrouding the place up with ominous fog that made the two people unrecognizable from far away.

"Look, I could afford it with less money that I had expected, so here is the rest of your money back," the dealer said.

The tall man was an odd creature, he was dressed like if he was going to fly to a destination where people would go to for the heat and the bright shining sun. Instead, the man was wearing that outfit in this cold environment of the streets and didn't seem to tremble. He gave the suit case to the other person, who first took it with both hands, to immediately dropped it afterwards. The impact that the case made with the ground resulted in the unlocking of the lock. Paper money was coming out of the case and was partly becoming wet by the fog. A quick scan exposed a budget above the two million bucks.

"Take that for yourself, I only want that pocket watch, money doesn't matter to me," the client said with disgust. His English was reasonable, while still getting some pronunciations wrong. The dealer couldn't tell where his client came from, but the client's skin gave him the impression of Asia, East Asia to be precise.

The pampered rich boy stereotype was suiting him perfectly, the man was however dressed in a more street thug outfit, blue ragged jeans, a pair of gym shoes and the most recognizable black hoodie you could ever find.

"Do you have it or not?", he snarled, eager for the information. The impatience from his eyes, arrived at the brain and the control room of the dealer.

_This is going to be a pain in the ass, I don't like where this conversation is heading to._

As a dealer, as a merchant, you needed patience and formality, especially in the more exclusive branches of the industry. Waiting for the time to strike, the right moment to buy the product you want. The price of you target behaved like a rollercoaster, it can go up, descend in lightning fast speed or if you were unlucky, being stable for almost a month.

_Don't lose your prey, purchase it on the lowest point and try to sell it at his highest point in the market, by predicting the demand of that object._

That was the motto of Yvan Dravok, who got antique seller as his profession. He would be considering himself more as a rarity seller, everything that was seldom, was his target and his product to sell. And because of that, he sold much more than just only antique, collectors' items or limited editions were also ware at his stall if he had one.

"I don't have it yet, it's currently shipping from Indonesia to here. It will take a day or two, so I will call you when it has arrived," Yvan said with a calm voice and got annoyed by the fact, that this was the only matter where his client wanted to talk about, he could better spend his time at home.

_How impatience is this guy? He said that was going to live here for a few months, so why is he getting irritated about waiting for two days?_

These questions arrived in his head at the same time as the information of his skin, who told that a round iron object was pointing him in the stomach. A rapid observation made it obvious that the client had putted a smirky expression on his face.

"What unfortunate, it's very clear that you don't wear a bullet vest under your cloths, it's just a thin blouse. That piece of clothing wouldn't stop a shot from a gun, isn't it?", stated the client, who was bowing a little bit forward to Yvan. His head was close to him and he was pressing the loop against Yvan's belly. The gun itself wasn't loaded, the client knew that, but the man from Hawaii couldn't be aware of that fact.

Yvan watched the situation, like a calculated coach at the side lines of a football field and shook his head, disappointing as hell.

_What is he doing? He did seem like an idiot, but he also behaves now as one._

"Bad pose for pointing a gun at someone," he commented and hit the intimidator with his bare hand on the back, without being noticed by the guy. His head was so close to Yvan's one that his sight didn't cover the hands of Dravok, who could easily punch the guy.

Due to the additional damage of the humid asphalt, the intimidator let loose of the gun, which get picked up by Yvan. The rich boy started to smile a bit; the dealer doesn't know that it isn't loaded. The boy was sure that Yvan was going to shoot.

However, like how a butler will hold a plate for the quest, he was holding the gun in the same fashion in the palm of his right hand, while his eyes were closed.

_No way, don't let that be true. He's kidding, he's bluffing it, faking it. Why are the men of these days such cowards?_

Dravok's expression started to communicate to the client, that Yvan was pissed off. The anger of him was booming to the intimidator like a pair of red laser beams.

"Do you call yourself a real man?", he questioned the man, while his eyes were demanding a reasonable answer. He grabbed the guy by the jacket and pulled him from the ground with just his left hand. Fear started to rise by the client, the dealer was much stronger than he had anticipated.

"What do you mean with a real man?", the client stuttered while being frightened to the last bone of his whole body. As a result, he was thrown back at the ground.

"I already know the answer, a real man would had brought a loaded one to a fight and he won't hesitate if he had to shoot," Yvan responded calmly, his voice was completely respectless to the man before him, who was just a pussy, a miserable fool.

He saw the eyes of the man, questioning himself how he could know that the gun wasn't loaded. Yvan was genuine in that aspect towards the client and explained why.

"It didn't weight as much as it must be. You didn't know that I sold guns and firearms before I started this business, did you?"

Yvan's voice was in the category of bass, it wasn't good for clear communication, however, it was ultimately effective for intimidating scumbags like the one before him.

To raise the threat, he threw the gun away like a small little stone, and it landed twenty-five meters from them, if not further.

"Let's do some old-fashioned punishing, have you ever felt a bare fist before?", he stated with a faked interest and an almost psychopathic smile on his face.

"It seemed you have never heard the cracking of your own bones, when a fist has touched your weak and pathetic flesh. No, you haven't."

From the scumbag's perspective, the clenched fist flied to his face in a rapid fashion, almost recklessly. His vision became black for a small amount of time, which after it recovered and immediately registered the next punch.

_Why are these kinds of people such fragile? He isn't the exception of only withstanding two bare punches in his branch of people. Even a simple-minded office worker needed at least four hits to be unconscious._

Yvan looked with a calm face to the coward's face, the eyes were closed, he didn't seem to breath anymore.

_No, that could be true, I won't let that happen._

His vast hand moved to the wrist of the scumbag, while sweat began to appear on his face. He felt a stable and constant pulse of the blood.

_For her sake, I couldn't let that happen._

The scumbag got the right clothes for this kind of weather and so, Yvan just left him behind. He didn't worry about the coward anymore; whose body was warm enough to lay on the ground for an undetermined period of time.

The rich boy type, awakened after a whole hour and founded himself completely alone. He was clear in his mind and was blaming himself for this stupid act.

"I think I can't work in this state, my manager won't like this and I agree with him," he murmured, while he was looking for his way back to his hotel.

"Damn, I can't remember it anymore. However, it can't matter anymore, I have lost."

The man stood up with great difficulty and started to walking lamb to a place where he could stay after this disgraceful night.

_In an abandoned warehouse..._

"We don't do hero stuff. I must painfully admit, but let the police handle your request," a tall slender man said through the phone, when the man asked him and his crew to find the man's daughter. The crew behind him started to grump, they all didn't like the authorities and it was their trademark. It was the thing that held the group together, their ethnicities and religious believes were all over the spectrum, but all of them had the grudge. The voice of the man in question sounded like a that of a high class one, someone from the old guard.

"Even the boss would say that it would be the right way to deal with a lost child and we all know how full of hatred he is against them," the slender man reacted. His hair was long and extremely obscure coloured, with the contrasting yellow and purple. His jeans had endured a lot of fights and was getting ruffled at the edge. His leather jacket was started the decline in condition, but there wasn't any logo on it, like biker gangs did.

"In that case, excuse me," the man apologized to them. The whole crew agreed on that fact with him, if it was about the same message.

"I lied against you all, she is in fact not my daughter. I made a false excuse at first, because I want you to kidnap her."

The group started to get interested in his offer, while still being uncomfortable about the job. Let's say, it wasn't in their field of profession, you don't steal a girl in the same way you do with jewellery or electronics.

"First, how much do you want to pay us for taking this job? Second, isn't it better to let another gang handle this? We aren't kidnappers, just burglars with a well-known grudge against the cops."

"Unfortunate, they are already busy with a job. They don't have the time for her. However, I am willing to pay almost any budget that you want," the man replied, and he sent a picture as a link to give a description of her. Of course, it was a photo where the girl didn't notice that the picture was taken, she was just walking around the warehouses.

_Why does he exactly need this girl? I must admit that she looks pretty, but I am curious about his reasons. And yes, I know that he probably won't spoil the reason, but still._

_And what does he mean with that Angle's Rescue is already busy with a job?_

It was a well-known rivalry between these two gangs, which was in the essential amateur versus professional.

The burglars called themselves The Rotters, which was a derived from the city itself and their reasoning. They broke into house and stole almost everything what was worth money and the effort to do it. They gave the police a headache through no correlation between the break-ins, they did it almost completely random. All their members had low paid jobs with the minimum wage and were doing the burglaries as a side job. They worked as individuals on small break-ins and worked together on the bigger cash piles of companies.

This was the reason why Angel's Rescue despised them, because they didn't do it as professionals, as their main job. Angle's Rescue's members were fully working in the underworld of the city and held pride for their professionality. They were being paid great by their clients and so, they had some professional tools to work with.

Both gangs were equal in number and fights always resulted surprisingly in tie. The down-to-earth mentality of the Dutch also remains in them and due to that, they choose both independently to not interfere with the other on purpose. However, the accidental meetings were ending always in a fight, physical or vocal.

_I am a bit low on money, so I won't hesitate to take the job, even if it isn't our profession. But how are the others thinking about this offer?_

He turned his face to the crowd, some of them wore their work outfits or their regular shirts, a few were dressed in leather clothes, bought a long time ago. The majority of them were looking excited and they seemed to like a slightly different job.

"Take a step forward if you want to take part in this job and like always, the boss or myself won't force you to participate," he commanded with a clear voice, a rather high voice for a man. An assumed 80 percent of the members took the step, the remaining 20 were respected for their choice.

"I am wondering how much of you will take this job," the man reacted with eager.

"So, what is your offer for the payment?"

_Don't go too fast, old man, you have maybe a rich filled bank account, but that won't make us immediately servants to you. Let's see how much you are willing to pay by yourself._

"Answer that question by yourself first," the rebellious looking sub-leader bounced the question back to him.

"You want me to submit a budget? Let's say one million euros," the man answered without thinking. He was from a generation older than most of the Rotters and due to that fact, they didn't like him. Elders can behave in such absurd ways, stuck in the old time of their mind, stuck to the old standards.

_So that's your perspective, well, maybe there will be a big surprise for you coming._

"It's not our profession, so the risk would be high if we take the job. One and a half million and we will do it," the leader offered with great confidence.

"Seems legit," the man responded neglectful. Like always with their kind, money didn't matter to them.

"Then we have a deal."

"Deal. I will give you the information where you can find her normally," and the man broke the phone line without any farewell, the lack of respect was bothering the whole group.

"That was a weird offer, even for his class," one of the members remarked, when the man had left the building, which was abandoned, due to the bankruptcy of a company.

"Does that matter to you? It doesn't, you and others have taken the job, just like I did," the leader replied and started to head towards his members. He held his hands in his pocket and had an almost calm and relaxing attitude towards the problem.

_Okay, it's inventory time. Let's look how we are going doing this job._

"I don't know what is going on with that girl, what he wants from her, but let's do it with care. Are there strong people who can constrain themselves? He hasn't requested it, but I prefer to deliver her unharmed to the client, so you must hold yourself in for this job."

There were few hands who rose up, most of the members were not particularly strong. However, they were handy with tools and could use them skilfully.

"Alright, let's proceed to the next part, any voluntary drivers here?", he spoke with care, while he looked to the participants, to the one who volunteered enthusiastically. The subleader took a deep sigh and shook his head.

"Nope, not you Garry, we all know how you drive. We need normal drivers, not careless ones."

The member withdrew his hand disappointed and took a step back. It wasn't going to be job suited to his style of working.

"At last, maybe it will sound as a contradiction, but are there members who can calm a girl?", the leader requested. A lot of hands started to rise.

_Shit, I forget to mention one thing._

"Without chemicals, just by talking," he added to his request.

As foreseen, all the hands were going down. This wasn't a normal request from him, but he had a soft heart for woman, while still being practical. If they could calm her down in the van, then the victim would be more predictable and she will be less eager to escape.

"It will not be that difficult, have a nice face and a calming voice is enough. If you have experience with or have children by yourself, then you will get priority for this," he gave as explanation. He knew for a fact that they got some fathers in their group, which made it only riskier for them.

He was trying to get some volunteers, because for this job, nobody held his hand high.

_Come on guys, we aren't that evil, like these overly confident kidnappers._

"Remco, why are you asking that last request?", one voice came from the crowd. It was a long-lasting member of the group and was one of the only people, who used the real name of their sub-leader, especially when it became ambiguous and or questionable.

"Because we aren't that bad, we aren't evil. Yes, I know, we all have a grudge to the police, these bastards didn't treat us well, but that doesn't mean that humanity as a whole is against us," he started to speak, for two seconds he closed his eyes, while having a calm and peaceful smile on his face.

_Thanks Fred, I am grateful that you took the lead in that question. I wouldn't give this speech without an extra push from you guys._

"The police treated us bad, so we will do the same with them, that's how respect works. But a girl who is unaware what is going to happen to her, don't deserve the same treatment as these police officers. And think to the practical side of my request, if we are decent to her, then it would be more likely that she will be less hostile to us, even when she is kidnapped."

Some of them agreed with his argument, but the most haven't thought about the question how far they want to go with going against the order and the status quo.

"So, I will ask it again, any volunteers?"

The response was decent and so it was decided. They will have multiple vehicles patrolling the area, so that she couldn't escape and as a distraction.

"Tomorrow, I will report this conversation after dinner, after I am finished with my work. In the evening, we will act," the sub-leader ended the discussion and ordered everyone to go to their home.

"Sevenear, do you think it was odd, due to the fact that this deal was set over the phone?", one of the veterans of the Rotters and a good friend of Remco was questioning for his opinion.

"Of course, he really like to keep himself a secret, but that make us in this situation stronger," he responded.

_If you do it anonymous, then you will get certain pros and cons, that's how it works. In this case, we got them too._


	3. Switching Jobs

Chapter 3: Switching Jobs

_In a hotel with four stars..._

_He has managed to include all our wishes, even that of the rest of his staff. He took care of our diets and allergies._

It was an observation that made the man satisfied and relaxed. He and the rest were having breakfast in a secured and private section of the hotel. Everyone was talking and their faces were more energetic than when they had arrived in the country. everyone's face, except his own.

There were staff members who wanted to try out new things and so, there were some local specialties brought in, like chocolate sprinkles and high-quality cheese. The rest of the breakfast was almost completely western, the scrambled eggs, sausages and cereals, with only one exception added to it: rice.

Their manager was trying out something new and quickly founded a good combination by adding a local ingredient to peanut butter.

The man himself, chose for a warm bowl of rice, with additions of the western version.

"It seems there are no paparazzi here," Ruri observed at the opposite side of the table. She brought a whole bunch of papers with her, which appears to be her script. Her other-worldly eyes saw how the sky was covered by clouds; the sun didn't reach the ground with her beams.

_Just like I said, I prefer the peace of being unknown in the rest of the world. I don't need international fame._

He saw the clouds too, which remembered him to the more shady and dangerous days of Ikebukuro. The days that he and his older brother were accused for assaults, which appeared to be false at the end. The police man who released his brother from his cell, managed to do the same with him, only a few days later and apologized for the harsh treatment they got.

He couldn't feel a difference between these clouds and these at home, however, they looked different. The clouds over here, had a more chilling atmosphere.

In contrast with the clouds, Max Sandshelt the manager delivered a chaotic aura into the room.

"What a catastrophe, even the end of the world in his most cruel form, would have been less painful than this!", he shouted over the phone with his iconic quirky and dramatic voice.

"He could have gone with us, but he preferred to take a little vacation here, before he begins with his work on the project," he explained to the person at the other side of the line, still in his overdramatized way.

"But serious, how long would it take him to recover?", he requested about the man he spoke of.

_He is in the hospital? I don't know if I am surprised by it._

Their cat, Yuigadokusonmaru, had survived the flight and enjoyed at this moment of his daily portion of milk, while being petted by Kasuka himself.

"A month? Come on, isn't that a bit too pessimistic about him? Of course, he needs to rest, but not for that long, isn't it?", Max reaction was genuine and he didn't swing his arms what he normally would do when he heard such nonsense. This was serious business to him, if the person was unavailable for that long of a period, then it would be a huge lost.

The time that he listened to the report of the local hospital, was worth to worry about. The falling jaw of Max added a serious, but also humorous side to the report.

"I understand, excuse me for the reaction I gave a few minutes ago. So, in summary, his face has a lot of injury, bones broken in arms and legs and his stomach disfunctions due to the injuries. That's a worrisome, but agreeable amount of damage for a time period to take that long to recover," the overreactions of him started to fade out, though, the conversation was still moving. It wasn't that Max didn't have the energy anymore to act overdramatic, it was because it didn't suit the mood of the conversation.

"That is lucky for him, that he had managed by himself to report the assault to a restaurant and requested an ambulance."

The person from the hospital, got a formal report of the questioning. The attacker appeared to come from Poland, but the victim couldn't describe the face of his attacker.

Kasuka knew the name of the victim, who was going to play a major role in the movie. Kujiramiga Fushigati, Kasuka had worked with that actor before. Their roles were most of the time the opposites of each other, with Kasuka being the protagonist, the hero and Kujiramiga the antagonist, the villain of the story. Fushigati's smirky face, was his main selling point and gave him many opportunities to play as the bad guy. Kasuka remembered that Kujiramiga didn't minded about the roles he got, he would just play them, so that he would get paid for it. Before he was scouted by Max, he had no experience in acting, but he managed it well, by just partly playing as himself and due to that, he wasn't that loved by staff members.

_It appears he founded a real villain this time, maybe he was ambushed or got robbed._

The thoughts of Heiwajima didn't make any sense, so he corrected himself.

_The best option would be that he evoked the assault in the first place, you could intimidate him simply, due to his weak and thin body._

"Where could I even find an actor with the same kind of smirky face of him?", Max questioned the issue openly to the rest of the crew, after he had hung up the call. It was for him an effective way to get answers and solutions, some people doubted if he was experienced in the job, but after a while it just felt like him being open about the problems and his staff appreciated that.

The problem was simple to understand, but difficult to solve. Even he knew that he couldn't simply wait on the recovery of Fushigati, even praying won't heal him faster.

The staff didn't had answers to his question and started to head back to their rooms, preparing for the first day on the film set. Kasuka saw how Ruri was still reading her script, trying to remember all the lines she got as one of the main characters.

_Her mind seemed to be overwhelmed by the amount of words, this doesn't look good._

"Maybe it's better to put the script away for a time, you could the time to relax a bit."

It was the feedback that astonished her, where after she observed the surroundings. She looked down onto the papers and putted them away.

"Thanks," she declared and closed her eyes.

_I didn't mean that, however, I will wake you up when we are leaving the hotel._

And Kasuka's eyes returned to the grey clouds, wondering if they were really that chilling.

_In a redacted hotel room..._

_People are lying when they claim that they are clean, as in the way of their soul being clean._

Normally, her clients would give her work around 10 pm, but there are always exceptions to the rule, this time it was 1 am when someone called her. The alcohol that she had drunk, made her work a little bit less difficult and more durable, but it wouldn't always work and she knew that.

The morning has started for her, this time in a luxury room of a hotel with five stars. It was the surprise factor of her job, one day she would wake up in a small, but practical hotel room and the next day in a penthouse outside of the city, where privacy was natural.

The blanket was almost on the ground, hanging just a little bit under the snoring man next to her. The man who had experienced an enjoyable night, wasn't her husband, though, it was her client. He said to her that he got a boring day and wanted something wild, so she gave it to him. That was her work that she chose for.

People would ask her twice why she did the work, trying to get the real truth out of her. However, it was the real truth and she didn't regret her choice.

_It's always the high class who are willing to pay for my services, they seemed to have no romantic life, only being busy with work, with money. Not that I hate his kind of people, at least, they are paying huge amounts for me, so I can't complain._

She grabbed the pile of money on the chair, next over the bed. The man with who she had slept tonight had a smile on his face, not a fake one, but a real satisfied expression. That was the reason why she did this work, it wasn't the unrealistic payment of her clients, but the drive to entertain them and giving them a night that they wouldn't forget for a shaming long time.

The clock showed her the time and it surprised her that it was earlier than normal. The voucher of the hotel communicated to her with the text, that she could get a breakfast.

_He paid for one night and a one-night stand, so he has paid also for my breakfast._

She headed to the bedroom and took a shower; the soap was as expensive as a carafe of champagne and the shower gave a nice warm infra-red light to her skin. She had putted off the long sharp nails, so that it couldn't hurt her soft feeling skin.

_He paid loyal, so I guess I will take a break at home and prepare myself for today's night or maybe I will take a day off. However, I will decide that after I have dinner with my husband._

After she had finished the shower and had dried her hair, the man still wasn't awake. She took the notebook of yesterday out of her handbag and wrote her number down, which she gave to her newly found client. She didn't do always that, if a client discomforted her or their wishes were to absurd, then she would just leave without any note.

"My client hasn't wake up," she explained to the receptionist of the breakfast hall, when she was asked about the reason why she was alone. She didn't shame for her work and she was even open about it.

_It is a legal job after all, at least in this country._

She was registered and got a half yearly check from a specific functionary, who after the check requested her number. If she wasn't registered, then they will get suspicious and ask for your passport. If it was a foreign one or under age, then they will bring you to the police, who will investigate which criminal circuit brought you to this country in the first place. If that wasn't the case, then you will get escorted to the police office, but then to register yourself after a check from a psychologist.

The warm pastries tasted excellent as always, the fresh squished orange juice gave her tongue the sour, but delicate taste of her daily dose of vitamin C. To be sure of her daily dose, she peeled and cut an apple with the knife that she had brought with her. The eggs were boiled perfectly, the proteins were denaturalized, while the egg yolk was still liquid.

_He chose the right hotel, it's always top notch here, he sure is man with a good heart and taste._

After she had finished her breakfast, she checked out by the main reception and they wished her a good day, because she was a loyal client of the hotel.

Like herself, the wind in the city was fresh. The wind came from the west and as a result, the air smelled salty and was refreshing after a hot night of work. Her walking style was straight forward, both feet were pointing towards her destination, which was her home. Due to her work, she had developed a second walk style for her clients, which was more provocative and appealing to them. It wasn't a practical style, though, and she only used it if necessary.

The bus stop appeared to be an ordinary one and wasn't used that much often. A couple was waiting for the bus too, just like that guy at the other side of the bus stop. She had an urge to look to someone feet and shoes, these were telling a lot of information about the person, which she used to determinate a new client for her service.

The couple wasn't interesting for her, however, the man who was standing alone, could be interested in her. His feet stood from each other, like if the noses were positively loaded and were repelling each other. His pose was loose, supposedly, his life didn't go well, which means that he could use a good night.

"Good morning gentleman, how is your day going?", she spoke to him in Dutch, not expecting the horror that she got, when he turned his face to her.

_Don't judge him, he still can be a client, he still can be nice._

"What did you say?", the man replied in English. His face seemed to be confused, while still remaining the strange look he wore. The eyes were black as tar, sticking to your mind for a couple of minutes, while his cheeks were as white as bleach and they didn't get much skin to it.

"Excuse me, I didn't know that you're a tourist. Are you on a city trip, if I may ask?", she responded, with a normal face and a practical attitude, ready for just a normal chat.

"I am not a tourist here, I am an exchange police man, who just arrived here yesterday," he responded with a neutral face. His tone sounded forced, trying to speak normally.

_A cop? I didn't expect that from a fragile body like him, however, he's acting normally, so I don't have a good reason to not talk with him._

"Where do you come from? Every country got their own accent, so it's difficult for us to tell where you have born and raised up," she questioned him with normal interest, trying to move the conversation forward.

The bus stopped and both of them were stepping in, while their chat also began to move. Their transport cards checked in by the device in the bus, releasing a simple beep.

"I lived in Washington DC, United States of America, but I was born in Winburn, Pennsylvania. You are coming from here?", his words had a sense of suspicion sticking to them, but the question he asked wasn't a weird one.

"Not from the city, but I do come from the Netherlands, just a few towns to the east, Oostgaarde," she replied.

Two seats next to each other where free and so their conversation was proceeding.

"That must be a long ride."

"Oh, don't think that big, it's like 7 kilometres from the centre of the city. Americans are having the tendency of thinking everything big, a given example is one of my American clients who wanted too much, so I couldn't deliver it." The intention of the last sentence didn't fulfil his purpose and was lost through astonishment.

"Well, Winburn was small and due to that comfortable, the forest nearby gave me great- "

The man stopped his sentence, probably realizing that he could give sensitive information away.

_Well, as I thought, everyone has secret which they want to keep to themselves. However, that doesn't matter._

"Before you arrive at your destination, may I ask you for your name? I want to contact you again, I am having a nice talk with you and I like to have it a few times more," she proposed, while he gave him a friendly smile.

"It's Uthan Calem," the man answered, standing up to check out with his card.

"Nice name that you have. Mine is Astrid Meijster, it was a pleasure to meet you."

Astrid could see that he had a question for her, but he took the responsible priority of stepping out of the bus.

_That was an enjoyable conversation, I haven't felt that intense in a long time. Maybe…_

Her eyes were going to her handbag, where she had her knife. As the bus proceeded to move, she wondered what the reason was for that feeling.

"Good morning, I am home!", she let her husband know that she had arrived from her work.

"It's early for your doing, what's happened?", her husband, William Frandward, asked.

"I had a short night and woke up early this time. I don't know what motivates them to hire a luxury room just for me, but at least I enjoy the time there," she explained.

It was a marriage with trust, they knew each other's profession and they both had now issues with the job of their partner.

William's body appeared to be built for a fight, his arms had scratches all over them and his skin was injured a bit. He hasn't shaved himself for a few days, that was visible to her, and the slightly curling hair made him look like a hard worker.

"You can't guess what kind of an interesting person I have met at the bus stop? I give you one hint: he was nice to me, but he wasn't Dutch," she gave her husband a riddle, that he couldn't solve.

"Then it must be a stranger completely lost, a tourist would want to take a picture with you," her man replied.

"Wrong, it's an exchange cop."

"Damn it, you know that I hate their kind, so don't tease me with them," he grumped.

"But he came from the United States," she defended her pointed, though, she throwed oil in the fire.

"I said, don't tease me! They are even worse! You don't demand respect, like what they do, you must earn it. I am lucky to don't live in the United States, because then I would been shot at least a hundred times."

He was grumpy already, but now he also started to become furious. She knew what to do and walked to the kitchen to let him cool down.

While she observed the inventory of the refrigerator, her man started to blow steam off through cursing and insulting the police, which he only did when he was alone. As much as he hated them, he held his principals high and never cursed when she or everyone else was in the room.

The cabbage was fresh, so he had done his part of the household and so, Astrid began to prepare the cabbage for today's salad with a knife purposed for vegetables.

"I am really in the mood to send someone to them, just someone who will kill a few of their kind," he said. She was out of the room, but she could still hear it, however, this wasn't against their agreement.

Astrid stopped abruptly with the preparations for the dinner, her heart started to pump her blood faster. She couldn't see her husband, but they have been so long together to exactly know how he said it. He said it with a wide smile on his face and she knew exactly who he meant.

_He was right, I need to change my course, by myself._

She kept herself quiet, switched to her own knife and commanded her head to stay cool. Her legs were trembling, while her head had already made the decision that would change her life for the better or the worse.

_At the local police office..._

_The exchange rookie seemed to have slept well tonight, he could use an energetic start to flourish his life a bit._

He observed the excited face of Uthan, a faint smile was coming through the pure bitterness of his face.

"Nice, I didn't expect you this early. It's ten o'clock, I thought the youth of today started to be awake early at noon."

The police officer, the matured version of a man, got enough life experience to write a whole book about his work and the remarkable events he had witnessed. However, getting famous for a book that he wrote, was the last thing he wanted to happen.

"Your face is looking a bit darker, so you have slept enough for today?"

The last years, he started to pay a lot more attention to the subtle and little details and now it came handy for people's faces and body, it gave a good impression about their state of mind.

"I did, I don't what is different here, but I got more sleep than normal, so I am going to catch up with my sleep shortage," the rookie stated, neutral at all cost.

Not being afraid, that was the trick. Even when he tried to sleep, his body couldn't rest, burglars and murderers seemed to be common place over in the United States, while he was also worried if one of his so-called colleagues started to show up with a flagon of oil and a lighter.

For now, his body was still feeling uncomfortable with all the new pairs of eyes, looking to him, eager to judge. Their faces were friendly and they seemed interested in him, their uniforms were almost unformal, it was just a white blouse and blue jeans.

_Everyone here is now looking to him, so I can also take a closer look to him._

The man started his observation with the Rookie's pose.

_His laid-back pose is communicating an athletic body, which is quiet surprising with his pessimistic walking style, like yesterday. Not that his mood is optimistic, it's still a slow mood, however, it suits him well._

"You got quiet an interesting and mysterious look. Why I don't to say shady, isn't known to me yet, but it doesn't fit you. At least you're not average, that's a good point for me."

It was one of the colleagues, who commented first. He was black haired, a healthy brown skin and wore some necklaces around his neck.

Uthan seemed to be startled, this time not because the man's English was great, but because he couldn't find any negative context in his words. He used even words, that he hadn't heard in a long time and Uthan seemed to like them.

Especially mysterious, a word with an air of secrets and imagination surrounding it, that his body was an expedition that they won't forget in a long time.

Gerard gave him a cup of coffee, which didn't seem to come from a vending machine. When the door of the office was opened, everyone's attention was pointed towards the person who wore a more formal uniform, even when it wasn't worn correctly.

"Ah, our new colleague has arrived, welcome in the Netherlands!", the voice was surprisingly young and got a motivated tone.

"Daniel Wassman is the name, nice to meet you."

_Shake his hand, that's how you behave normally to a stranger. You have a lot to learn._

It appeared that Gerard was the oldest of the bunch and that he could easily be in charge of this bunch of police men, mixed in all kind of ways. However, he preferred to be called an experienced agent, not an old one and so he was teased because of his age, ripe for retirement.

"I assume that you can guess who your partner is going to be, you are lucky if he isn't going to retire this year," the more formal one said, which indicated that he was the chef of the office.

He got poked in the side and gave Gerard a hat pat, which seemed off for a higher-up to do.

"It would be luckier if you aren't going to be fired, due to sexual contact with your employees. We can all gave a statement against you and you know that," Gerard reacted and made fun of the chef's behavior.

These were the things of which Uthan didn't expected completely and it gave him a little chill. The different relationships like this boss and his own boss at the other side of the sea, was perfectly clear to Calem. The chef here didn't get angry when you made a joke or gave him feedback, while the American one would go furious.

"You still can go with retirement due to an accident; your bones aren't that strong anymore." The comment wasn't harsh and was said with a blink.

"However, we are eager to learn more about you, you seemed to be a rather interesting one."

On Uthan's face, as a new member of this police squad, appeared a confused expression combined with a hint of shock.

"How much do you know about me?"

The face of the chef, who was just called Daniel by everyone, turned to a rather confessing one.

"Honestly, not that much. Your department over in the United States gave us almost nothing. We only received the basic papers, passport and your job description, which stated only that you are a cop," Daniel said with a bit of embarrassment.

"We even know nothing about your family, your hobbies or your principals."

Gerard got it right, they got almost no information about him and even the simplest pieces are going to be huge revelations for the squad.

Something didn't fit well, Uthan was sure about it. They gave no information about him, to the police here and even not a warning to watch out for him, at least he expected that.

"What do you mean with principals?", Uthan asked, his brain was still sorting the little clues around the lack of given information.

"See it as your morality, what do you see as inherently good or bad? When are people crossing the line for you and what is your attitude towards problems, how are you going to solve them? Police work isn't always that clear and is especially nuanced when something close to you has happened," Gerard explained it clearly and gave some examples.

Examples as what are you going to do when someone is threatening your closest friend, are still trying to calm the intimidator or do you choose to shoot? Or if a child committed a crime and you knew the unsafe situation at home, how are going to approach the kid then?

These little situations felt much closer to home and relatable, then the terrorist attack or bank robbery, which they warned him about over in Washington. The cases he was given now, where more realistic and like his partner said, more nuanced than the cases around the real bad guys.

_I am curious what kind of work he did over in the USA, he's still thinking about it. Hopefully, I don't have to give him the question why he has chosen for the police or if it's even suited for a person like him._

"I don't what the slogan over at Washington was, but we are the police to help people, even with the simpler things. Enforcing the law is for us the third priority, after helping and protecting people. And due to that, you need to earn respect from the citizens, not demanding it."

It seemed logic for these people, but Uthan wasn't sure if his former colleagues could understand it. He needed to adapt a few more habits than thought when he arrived here. He realized that if he wanted to change his life, he must change his life style and behavior.

"However, back to business. First a sorry for Gerard, the patrol of the neighborhood needs to wait, it's about an order from the commissioner, who got it also from higher. It's about securing a film set, a complex of two warehouses, with their private security together."

Normally, the police would keep their distances from companies and corporations. However, one of the city's councillors has managed to strike a deal with the film company to use the harbour as the scenery and so, the city itself was involved with the project. And because of the involvement, they arranged some police men to secure the film set and the actors. Responsibility was the keyword here, the city was convinced that if something went wrong, then the city would be partly responsible for that accident.

"We are going to make it a swapping job. Every week, a next couple from this office will secure the place, starting with Gerard and the newbie Uthan. Next week, Jerry and Mohammed will take the responsibility."

The two chosen cops looked into each other eyes, there was a relaxed attitude on Gerard's face. The delay of patrolling the neighborhood, was just a week, so it didn't bother him.

_That's okay, so let's started._

"In that case, we are going to visit the warehouses, letting them know that we also care about the movie. Uthan, take a cup of coffee, put your sugar and or milk in it and hold your jacket on. When you're finished, we will go to the harbour, to the warehouses."

It wasn't a command, like Uthan was used to, it sounded more like an agreeable invitation for some sightseeing.

_Let's have a talk on the way, there is a lot of the unknown hanging around you, so let clear that a bit._

Veteran Gerard stood already at the front door of the office, waiting for the fresh wind outside this building. He saw how Uthan took the time for his coffee, it was life essence after all.

_I wonder if he's happy here, I can't figure out why, but something is bugging him and so that same matter is bugging me too._

_On their way..._

"Aren't we going to be late?"

_I guess it would be a strict time schedule for the patrols. At least, that's how it used to be. But it seemed completely different over here, which is almost unreal in my opinion._

"Ha-ha-ha, ha-ha! This isn't a must or a request from the company, but a nicely token from the city's side. We haven't told them that we are coming and if we did, then we didn't pick a specific time for our arrival."

Uthan got enough info to assume the age of Gerard and so he was rather surprised that the legs were still at their strongest.

_I will sink into my thoughts, like now, then I can't follow his pace. His head seemed to be completely empty._

He focused on the tempo of the legs, who were resembling an up-beat rock song, energetic and lively. At their way, Uthan felt uncomfortable when Gerard greeted random people on the street, who didn't greet back.

_What are they thinking about? Hopefully it is not about me. I am tired of all the comments I got, of the people will look always to me when I don't see them. It's even worse than just telling that I look terrifying._

The distinction between the neighbourhood and the harbour was simple to recognize, the amount of people walking around was decreasing with the minute and the colourful gardens from houses, where replaced with joyless buildings of concrete or steel.

The coffee was cooled down enough to drink it without burning your tongue and when Uthan was finished with the coffee, they arrived at the film set. The complete film set contained out of two large warehouses next to each other and a few mobile homes for the actors and the important crew.

"Hey guard, we are going to help you with the security!", Gerard shouted modestly towards the security guard, who seemed to be happy with the reinforcements.

"They will send some cops from the other offices too."

"That's great, if one of our actors has made enemies in the city, then I don't know if we could stop that person."

The private security was twelve men strong, so they were divided all over the terrain. However, just one guard wouldn't be enough to hold back a fanatic fan or an angry person.

While the two chatted further about the weather, which seemed to be a common overly used topic to talk about, Uthan's attention was drawn to a person, who seemed to be an American.

"So, you couldn't find a replacement for his role, even with that much scumbags in Ikebukuro?"

_Ikebukuro, I have never heard of that town or city. In which of 51 states would it be?_

"May I ask who that eccentric person is?", Uthan asked to the security guard, who wore a short beard and got a healthy skin color, slightly brown.

"That American dude with the blond afro haircut? That's the manager of the actors. Don't be thrown-off by his looks, the film industry is a magnet for these types of people," the guard answered with a smile. He had seen him just once, but the impression he got is already solid.

"Do you know which actors are going to play in the movie?", Gerard gave him another question to answer, this time it was much harder for the guard to be correct.

"They appeared to be famous, but I don't know who these actors are. My supervisor said that they came from Japan, so it seemed strange to me, normally they would stay in their own country."

"Japanese actors? I am already interested, if I could determine the schedule, then I won't mind to plan myself here all along," Gerard said with a blink to Uthan, who was wondering about the amount of work.

_At least, it would be less busy than I thought. Washington was almost no rest, even for the job that I did. If I could live the first month in this tempo and atmosphere, then I would surely enjoy my time here. We will have enough time to-_

He couldn't finish his thoughts, due to the poke that Gerard gave him. His partner and supposedly his mentor too, pointed to the manager, who was waving to them if he wanted something from them.

"Go ahead, it seems to be about something important," the guard said and opened the gate for the duo.

"Is there something wrong, sir? Can we help with something?", Gerard started the conversation politely. He took the lead to show Uthan how they handle thing over at this side of the ocean. Both of them remarked the controversial expression that the manager wore. He would expect him to be worried or stress, but his face was booming of happiness and excitement.

"My Saviour, my Angel!", the manager started to cry from joy and prepared himself to hug the duo with all the right intentions. After his hug attack, which was awkward to feel from a man, he did a step back and started to take some stereotypical poses of an artistic painter who was sketching the model he had before him.

He bowed swiftly his head towards Uthan, who bounced a bit back, and stopped on the last second before he touched Uthan's skull. His energetic eyes face the emptiness of the man before him and questioned with a certain childish feel how good Uthan was in remembering text.

"Well, I had to learn almost every law over in the United States, so I guess it's pretty good," he stuttered. He didn't understand the reason for the question, which was reasonable if a weird looking manager just ask it to you, while the gap between their faces is just a few millimetres. Uthan could even hear Sandshelt's breathing and it felt kind of embarrassing for him.

"Well then, in that case, I have found a replacer for him!", Max shouted enthusiastically to his secretary, who was annoyed by the ridiculous choice he had just made. His abrupt head swing did cause a small, but sensible gust of wind.

"Are you confident, sir?", the secretary questioned his decision, while adjusting her glasses a little bit to the front.

"He doesn't have that smirky face where you were looking for. I must confess, he has more a scary face, that of a skeleton to be precise."

The tone of the manager changed to rather serious, while he gave simple head nod.

"You're right about that," he commented. He saw how uncomfortable the man before him was and started to smile again.

"But this face is even better suited for the role!" This time, he didn't got determination to be serious the whole time and slipped into his own personality.

"Well, young lucky fellow, what do you think about the deal?"

_Deal? Where is he talking…_

The comment of the secretary helped him a lot with figuring out where this conversation was about. The poses that the manager made, contributed also to the conclusion and after some thinking, he had figured it out.

_This is about my face, I am getting now an advantage with my face for being terrifying, but why just now? Why didn't get I the advantage earlier, like when I was bullied? _

He noticed of course the man's accent, which was clearly American, supposedly New York or Boston, and started to wonder why this man gave him an offer, a role for in a film. The calculating and assessing in his mind were taking every part of his random-access memory, so the functions for moving his eyes was shut down and stared towards the manager.

"Why?", Uthan's mouth moved autonomous, in sync with his brains.

"It's about a role," Max said to explain a thing that Uthan already had figured out.

"We are staying on a film set, you know? One of our main actors has fallen out and you are the perfect substitute to fulfill his role in the movie."

_So, he is saying, a major film role and I am the right person to replace that actor? What kind of character was he going to play then?_

"Wait, me?", his respond had a small delay with his brain, due to the registration of the couple who just walked towards the manger. His brain instantly focused all the attention on them and got immediately the information that it was a man and a woman. The face of the lady had a mystical vibe to it and rang a bell in his mind.

_Wait, is that miss Hijiribe?_

On the police department over in Washington DC, he got a lot of questions around the fact if he was a monster or not. He only registered the remarks, but didn't react on it, because it won't stop if he did something against it. His library with harsh comments was enormous, it archived more variations of harassments then someone else will ever receive.

_"From which horror movie are you coming? Because you are needed on the film set."_

_"You don't have to dress yourself up with make-up, there are make-up artists for that job."_

_"I only want to ask you an often-spoken question to you, how much centuries have you lived already?"_

They treated him standard like a monster, he knew all the references that they threw at him. Because he already had read lots of books and articles about his assumed kind, about monsters. His colleagues got even the courage to ask if he was one of Hijiribe's newest creations, a new freshly made monster of Frankenstein.

She wasn't a well-known idol from Japan, but she still had some recognition for being a respectable make-up artist all over the world. Directors were eager to get her working for them, especially in the horror genre, where her specialty as sculptor of monsters was unreplaceable, however, she worked only on Japanese productions.

_Why do I feel some disturbance? I have never done something to her or even met her? For heaven's sake, what am I sensing?_

It was for him a feeling close to goosebumps, but without the physical appearance of the correlated reaction. His whole body was stunned out of astonishment, which only contributed to his awkward stance.

"So, would it be yes or no? Do you want the role or not?", the American manager asked him with a concerned expression. It wasn't urgent and it didn't sound like a commando, but Uthan got the impression that it was a question, which required a necessary answer.

He could and did turn his head towards his freshly appointed mentor for some advice and help. However, the smiling face gave a sign of that I didn't look good for him, that there was no choice for him to make.

"You've got my permission and that of the chef, I've just called him about the offer and he stands completely behind your decision," Gerard stated, while pointing with his left hand to his phone.

_There is no decision to make, the only thing I can do now is accepting it._

"Just take it, this is a golden opportunity, even the project on his own will be a life changer," Gerard added unconsciously some extra weight on the decision.

_It would be a life changer, but I don't know what is coming next. I don't know exactly what they wanted from me._

His whole brain shouted towards him, almost forcing him to take this once in a live time chance.

_If this works, then it can give people a new perspective about me. They will at least see me as normal, but why am I getting this opportunity? I am still nervous._

"Okay, I will do it, I accept your offer," he said. The words came out of his mouth, even when he hadn't decided it completely in his head.

"Marvelous, Mia, can you deliver Fushigati's script to this new born actor. Because then he could read and learn his lines for his first film shooting over two days," Sandshelt ordered in his own flamboyant manner. He shook Uthan a hand to congratulate him with his new occupation, which only made the situation more uneasy for Calem.

He received the script in the few minutes after that and started to scroll through the script. It took him a short period to realize where he had signed up for, he was shocked about his role by only reading some of his planned actions and especially his dialogue, which wasn't that much for an important role as a main character.

_Wait, is this going to be my script? No way that this is real, I hope this is a mistake, this couldn't be true._

With desperation in his eyes, he looked to the manager to expect that this was a joke. However, he didn't get an explanation and due to that, it hit him hard.

_I am right about it, I am almost certain about it. This is the script for the antagonist, the villain of this story, which seems to be a detective story. Which means…_

To be sure of his assumption, he searched and found his character description together with the designs of his character.

_What the hell, what have I done. This is the script of the bad guy in the story._

It was the chance that he needed, but he didn't expect that his live would take this route.

_I am going to play as the bad guy, as the serial killer, which means that I am going to play as a monster._

_In the portable home at the film set..._

_There are more words then I ever had read before._

Her brains tried to copy and paste most of the information that she read, trying to cramp it all up. She had learned to read, like almost every person do, but the flood of words was too massive for her to comprehend.

"Just try to focus on one chapter and imagine how it should play out in reality." In the chaos of words, screaming through her head, a calm and monotone advice came as a thunderstruck in her mind. These were words, spoken by the other person in the mobile house, who wore an expression as blanc as new page of white paper.

The story, for what she had read until now, was a decent one about a poor detective couple, who are privately investigating the mysterious murders behind the back of the police. It wasn't a remarkable story or something completely new, however, it was good enough to engage the audience.

_Some things don't make completely sense, why does he need Japanese actors for example?_

She has worked in the film industry before as make-up artist and has sculptured monsters for the countless horror movies she had worked in, so she always got to read the script to get a grasp on the plot of the movie. That was necessary for making the monsters and the effects, you need to know where you are working on.

The film will start with two murders already committed; two victims dressed up like saints with runes scattered all around the walls. The director, a good old college friend of Max, has said that it was based on European and Norse mythology. The only tale that Ruri knew was that of a Dullahan, a headless woman from Celtic folklore, who came by to announce someone's death. It was a piece of folklore that wasn't fiction, just like herself.

"My Saviour, my Angle!"

For some reason, the random yell from outside was enhancing her thoughts.

Both of the actors were turning to this joyful shout out of Max, who sounded enthusiastic after the dramatic event of losing a famous and main actor.

"Well then, in that case, I have found a replacer for him!"

The statement made it very clear what the reason was for his happiness.

_Does he mean for Kujiramiga Fushigati? How has he found someone and who?_

The two looked to each other for a small period and immediately understood each other, as if they were telepathic. They both remained silent, keen to hear the conversation between the new actor and their flamboyant manager.

"Why?", a voice responded full of confusion.

It was a calming voice like Kasuka's, but it was surrounded by a sweet and charming aura. The mouth of the person seemed to be completely drenched in honey, or even royal jelly, while still being able to talk elegant as a man from high class. It didn't matter if he was from the higher class, however, Ruri and Kasuka felt themselves attracted to the voice and stood up at the same time to go outside to see their new co-actor.

_Where is the actor? I am only seeing a police duo, what is happening here?_

That was the thought she got when they walked to the ongoing conversation and it was an accurate one when you only observed them. However, when they stood behind Sandshelt, who was still in ecstasy, they could see who was going to be the co-actor.

While Kasuka was thinking why Max made such a ridiculous offer, Ruri sensed a familiarity with one of the police. It was a sensation that she didn't had for quite a while, a feeling that was completely accurate in what it meant. For her, it had always resembled the nice transporter that she has spoken with. They have communicated with each other on occasions and once in her apartment, where she faintly sensed a second aura that she couldn't locate.

However, the feeling's meaning has changed from one person to a specific group, a group with a vibe of loneliness surrounding it.

_What's going on with him, what is he?_

The older police man started to make a call, while the younger one seemed dazzled because of her presence. It appeared that he sensed the same thing as she did, but in contrast with her, he didn't know the meaning of the feeling that they got. He switched looks with his partner and was scared by the fact that he got the permission for taking the role, it bugged him deeply.

"Okay, I will do it, I accept your offer," the young one said, the eyes started to express surprise and were started to widen themselves, which gave Ruri an impulse of curiosity to look him in his eyes.

_What is wrong with him? His eyes are like outer space, empty until infinity, with just a little spark of light, lingering in the far distance of that universe of him._

She got the strength to focus her sight on the other features of his face, which looked way more realistic that it should be. His cheekbones were surprisingly well hidden with the amount of skin that he had.

_If Sandshelt asked him only for the appearance, then he made the right decision for the role, such a face is priceless. I am starting to get jealous; I wish that I could sculpture his face._

The new appointed co-actor was still nervous because of the deal, it seemed that he got a feeling of something that was odd, a feeling that something wasn't right.

Mia, the secretary of Max, who always wore a serious expression of a business man, came back with the script and gave it to him.

When he received the script, his eyes were already usurping the words on the front page. He browsed through the fair amount of paper and with a pair big wide-open eyes, he started to realize the role he has assigned for. Ruri saw it perfectly, the pages were scrolling too fast for a normal person, but he wasn't reading it, he was scanning it.

_How many books does he have read, how much paper work has he done? He scanned almost lightning fast through the pages._

She saw how he was looking for the character description. Almost frightened, he started to form desperate thoughts in his mind and became unmovable for a short period.

_He seemed to be shocked about his role. Kasuka told me once that you aren't the character, you are playing the character. Your role never resembles you as a person._

Max had noticed the presence of her and Kasuka and decided to move on with the introduction.

"These two here are the main actors for the film, the heroes of the story.' Like an announcer from the circus, he spread his arms wide to introduce them to their new villain.

"We can pretend that you are the original actor of the movie, replacing your real name with his. You don't have to get the credit for the role, we can disguise it if you want it and you don't have to decide it now," Max proposed to calm him down. With a honest smile, he looked to the older cop to apologize for picking the colleague.

"You can take your day off, your new job is way more important to you now," he said and wore a real expression of gratitude on his face.

"Of course, we will first proceed with these two actors. I will only ask you to prepare for number zero, one and four. These are the scenes that we are going to shoot over two day with you," Sandshelt explained and he wished the new actor a good and calm day.

The newly assigned actor didn't know what to do and as a result, started to follow his older colleague who was heading back to the police office.

"Are you okay? You seemed dazzled about him," Kasuka asked her, when they police men were out of sight.

_Wait, I looked like that?_

She knew that he didn't meant to scare her, he questioned her because he was worried about her. However, at the moment, she couldn't answer the question due to having no good explanation for her reaction towards the young actor.

"There is nothing to worry about Honey-chan, I got the thrills too, he looks terrifying with that face of him. But I always try to see the bright side of things and this time, that empty frightening expression of him is priceless. Sorry if I hurt your feelings Honey-chan, but he got the right face for a film like this."

Max gave his honest observation and seemed to be a little bit embarrassed by expressing it. It wasn't harsh though, they all three knew that it was the truth.

Ruri had learned from a weird befriended couple that you don't have to read facial expressions to know in which mood the other person was. You could tell it by small and subtle differences, hints of which yourself won't be aware off.

Though, what was going on between her and the young cop wasn't normal, she knew that well enough to describe it with a different term than abnormal. She would call it by the term that she could give only to a few people that she knows and the correct description would contain the word supernatural.


	4. Unplanned Events

Chapter 4: Unplanned Events

_At the dock of the Huysman Harbour Company..._

"It seems that you have cooled down after yesterday, you looked like if you saw a ghost," the security guard said. His colleague wasn't in a good mood if he must be honest. The fog was even thicker than yester and for the temperature was it the same.

_Come on Bernard, don't be upset about it. We will have a great time to watch the soccer match of tonight, maybe you are going get some free money, so see the positive side of life._

Joey brought some donuts for the match, there were on discount in the supermarket and he got accustomed to the Dutch habit of buying things who were only in the sale. It was for him also to get something to try out, sometimes he would like the new discounted product and sometimes it turned out to be trash. He had saved a decent amount of money and so, he was in a good mood tonight.

Bernard was the opposite, it appeared to Joey that his colleague wasn't completely over the illusion of yesterday. He himself didn't saw it and for some reason that calmed his friend.

While he was settling himself in the warm cozy chair, Bernard walked out to the dock for the check, nervously inspecting any small detail of the water.

"Are you really going to search for that mysterious blond girl, which you described to me?", Joey asked and remarked that his answer didn't reach his friend.

_It is here nice and warm, why would he look for a girl that doesn't exist?_

It was an illusion for Joey, a hallucination. An image of something made by your own foolish brain, whose imagination could go to the roof. He has read some articles about it, while his friend was away and it was always a projected imagery through the eyes of the creator.

However, Bernard was his friend and he won't be worthy of calling himself one if he didn't help him. As nice as his chair was, he putted himself to stand up and go out to check the terrain by himself. His watch was almost at ten o'clock at night, the match of the soccer rivals has already started.

With the scarf around his neck, he stepped to the outside world to assist his colleague for the check.

The fog was thick, he almost couldn't say which side of him was east, west, south or north. His sense of direction was completely off guard and so, he also needed to rely on Bernard.

"Where are you, I can't see that much!", he shouted to get a sense of location, he could see just the floor and a few meters forward.

"There she is! Right next to you!", his buddy shouted enthusiastically, almost fanatically.

_Bernard, are you having a mood swing? You can't just say that after the grumpy expression you wore just five minutes ago. Of course, she-_

His thought got interrupted by seeing the vague female silhouette moving next to him. His eyes started to expand, his breath was holding himself in and he instantly believed his colleague.

_Since when are his fantasies coming to life, since when are these things real?_

The mysterious figure was running away from them and headed straight for the closed gate. The gate itself was two and a half meters high and was made of semi-solid mesh, it was good enough to prevent robbers to climb over it.

However, the figure didn't need to climb, it transcended right to the mesh, through the gate and the person became solid in a short period after that. The mist became suddenly less and clarified the description of Bernard's earlier encounter.

It was indeed a blond girl, probably a teenager, fifteen years old. For the short time span that she was close to him, Joey recognized the emotion on her face, an emotion that was communicating something wrong about the situation.

"Why did she look scared, what have we done to her?", Bernard asked him, the eyes were disconnected from reality, completely staring forward.

"Maybe your search has frightened her," Joey tried to cheer him up, but as a human possessed by a demon, Bernard didn't reply and ran immediately to the gate to unlock it. While his breath started to calm down, the hands were holding the keys and putted with thrilling fingers in the key hole.

"I would like if you stay here to keep an eye on the dock and the gate, I will make sure that she won't get hit by a truck if I find her.', he explained to Joey and was far enough away from him to ignore the comment.

_What's wrong with him? However, I must admit, that was odd, almost weird._

He found himself left behind by his colleague, who headed after that mysterious teenager that the both witnessed. The thought of that he had seen a supernatural phenomenon, was passing through his mind and made a lot of sense. Normal people aren't supposed to walk straight to a gate of mesh, normal people won't turn into fog and reverse.

_He won't listen, I am more worried about him, that he won't be struck by a car or truck. It seems that he got kicks out of other things, things that maybe will cost him his life, I would only lose some of my money._

Joey took a deep breath and sighed with a smile. He putted a rag out of his pocket, who had a smell that was chemical and disturbingly calming.

_Well, at least I don't need this anymore, it turned out fine for me on this part._

His old cell-phone began to ring, the sound was like an old 8-bit Gameboy, but distorted. It was clear that his mobile phone was an old model and had experienced a lot, but it still worked for where it was meant for.

"It the dock safe? Can we moor?", a voice asked through the speaker. It was a rough voice, affected by the salt air of the see through his years, while his English was heavily accentuated with his foreign dialect.

"Yep, it's safe. My colleague won't be a nuisance, he had something different to do," he answered and saw how a medium sized ship moored on the dock.

He couldn't read to name of the ship, which was written with graceful little symbols. However, it didn't mind him, because he could use the extra money for the defect washing machine he and a few others used.

The ship wasn't moving anymore and the gangway reached the ground of the Netherlands, which was wet due to the weather of the last days. The little water pools combined with the transparent mist, made at first sight a mysterious impression for the visitors.

A group of four passengers took their first steps in this country of low lands, merely above the sea level. The group was sub divided into two pairs, one couple seemed loveable, the other duo was quite tense.

"Europe, the contingent of countries that are looking the same, are the same, but are still different. The contingent where all the cheap fantasy settings are based off, while completely ignoring the more interesting and real history of Europe," the older man said, or at least, that's what Joey assumed. The man was hiding his face behind a mask and was wearing a lab coat, but his pose was resembling an adventurous spirit of a child with wild imagination, ready to explore this new and dangerous place.

"Wherever we are, you are as dumb and weird as always."

A young and ambitious woman, who was also dressed in a lab coat combined with a green sweater, sent the snarky comment to him.

"I do prefer something warmer, but your cap will be useful here," a grown-up boy said to the girl next to him. While his real age was almost eighteen, people tended to estimate his age higher. The almost vaguely pink color of the head wear was off for a man like himself, but it was given to him and he didn't bother about his looks.

"Before we left Japan, I have research and studied the weather patterns of the United States and all of the coast of Europe. The weather tended to be colder here, so I decided to buy some extra caps for the case you get a cold," the girl explained, who was sticking as glue to him. Her cap was the same model only with the addition of a small lovely pink colored heart.

"I bought them also for you, it can freeze at night over here," she commented with a cheerful voice and putted without permission a similar looking cap on the head of the older man.

"That's kind of you miss Harima, you also added a small and unique touch to it. I like the conical flask on it, I would like to show to my son, he would also approve it."

"However, that son of yours is even more crazy. Of course, he would approve it." the woman said, while her eyes were almost piercing through the girl's head. The reason was that her own personalized cap she got from her, had a small light purple skull on it.

"Don't argue over it, what would the security guard think of it. We are already looking odd enough," the older man tried to calm it down and turned his masked face to Joey.

_Odd is a rather weak word for this group, but supernatural is too weird for them too. I think I would keep it by weird._

"However, here is the money that we promised you for leaning your service to us and letting us slip through the border patrol," the man said and handed over an envelope with a good pack of cash in it. It was already in euros, which was great, now he didn't have to make excuses for why he needs to exchange that much paper money.

"It is no problem, if I am honest, I must admit that it is even a delightful meeting, I have never met this kind of interesting people," Joey replied, while he was counting the money.

_That corporation where he works for, Nebula, is a rather loyal and honest company. They will pay me great if I do my part of the deal good, silently and safely._

While he was putting the envelop in his pocket, a car with mirrored glass stopped before the opened gate. His colleague has forgotten to lock it, when he followed the girl.

"I see that everything is managed well, well then, let's move to our new residence for the time that we are here," the man decided and his crew agreed on it, but for various reasons.

The captain of the ship, was also off the boat and explained to him what was going to happen next.

"We will moor after this somewhere else, where we will get checked, however, they will find nothing suspicious, because those four are already in the country."

"That is reasonable, have a good night," Joey responded, while his mind was being curious about the item in that steel cubic case that the older man was wearing with him.

_-Somewhere on the street, close to the harbour..._

_Why I am doing this, why have I done it?_

For some people, it was a necessary question to evaluate their own lives, a question that could decide their new path in this reality. Others are asking themselves the same thing, due to confusion over a thing that turned out differently than expected and forced them to take a different route, for the better or the worse.

_Why I am doing this, why have I done it?_

For her, it was for both reasons and it made her walking through the mist for almost an hour straight, without resting.

She only knew that context was always relevant and that that said context was someone's past, a foot mark of their own choices and decisions. For herself, she couldn't imagine the things that she did the last hours without him being involved in it.

_Damn it, fuck it, curse it, curse that damn beautiful part of live, damn it._

"Let's start by living together," he said, when he they did it for the first time and now, she got this corrupt mess, this abomination. She looked into her wallet where she found the pack of cash of yesterday's client, her make-up set for when she's on the way and that kitchen knife, that damn cursed kitchen knife.

_I can't get rid of it, why in the name of god does the world need this kind of twisted items?_

The knife was wrapped around with a cotton lap, who was gotten red from the blood, but she herself wasn't cut and that made the conclusion, that it wasn't her own blood.

_I am hoping that they will find him late or that they won't find him at all, which will never happen. I can't go back to it now, I want to leave it as fast as I can, but where can I hide?_

She won't get it cold; her fur coat kept her warm while she was wandering on the harbour side of the city without a clear goal in mind. Hoping for a new client tonight, she had made herself up and had chosen this time for an ironic femme fatal look. The purple of the coat was accentuated around her eyes, while she wore long and seducing eyelashes.

"Miss, help me!", a young beautiful voice screamed to her. Like everyone who was in dangerous, she sounded scared as hell, however, the voice contained a noticeable hint of doubt. In the next second that past, a girl who was in possession of a jealous making amount of blond hair, was already clamming to her. While Astrid was still startled by the girl's appearance and behaviours, her focus and attention where completely on edge when she heard the next few lines of the situation.

"There she is, with that prostitute!"

"She is way easier to find than what we had anticipated."

Inside, she sighed happily, it seemed that they haven't found him still and didn't recognize her. Though, that didn't mean that she wasn't scared by the group of four, who were going to approach the girl, who seemed to be in her puberty.

"Don't worry, don't fear us, our boss is worried about you, we won't hurt you."

_What's with them? What he just said was straight out creepy pedophilic talk, but he sounded honest though. They aren't lying and they don't to be pedophiles by themselves._

Abnormal was the term that she wanted to use for describing this moment. They didn't lie, but they were looking dangerous and were definitely going to kidnap the girl.

In an attempt to calm herself a bit, she observed the clothes of the guys and recognized their outfits. For her, it was quite unsure if this was a coincidence or not.

_I can't fight them, if I do, then the situation will escalate and the only thing I want now, is a hiding place._

The girl stood frightened behind her and Astrid's appearance didn't matter in this moment. The four men began to get close to them, while in the distant the start of a vehicle's motor was faintly hearable.

_I can't take her on my back, maybe if she was younger, but she is too old for being carried. There is just one thing I can do now and it won't solve the problem._

Her expression became serious, while her head was turning to the mysterious girl and whispered:

"Would it be okay if we ran, I don't have the courage now to take them on."

There was communication between them that didn't required words or speech, humans are capable of impossible things when they are threatened.

She took the teenager's hand and together they fled from the men, who started to follow them.

"Grab her before it is too late!", one of the thugs took the leader role, but it wasn't necessary for the group.

_I knew it, this is going to be a real mess, a mess where I have dragged myself into, I am going to be the cause of this conflict._

She had seen these guys countless times and their business didn't clash with hers. In fact, they have met each other and held useful conversations. However, she knew that they have become enemies in the last day and now both parties are going to interfere with each other's, she was hundred percent sure of that.

_At the apartment complex of Uthan..._

_I am wondering, is she still in the apartment?_

Uthan stared to the wooden door on the ground floor, it was the place where he had spoken to the girl. He was reminded by the careful approach that she took towards him, he couldn't blame her. However, he wanted to thank her for the help she gave him.

_That was an awkward situation with her, I didn't saw that fluency coming from her, at least not that advanced._

While he was waiting on the response of him knocking on the door, he turned his head to the script, which contains a lot of paper, but little dialogue for his character.

_Still, is wasn't that strange as my encounter with Ruri Hijiribe, she's going to play a major role in this movie, just like me._

An answer didn't come, it appeared that she wasn't home. There was no reason for him to think that she could live somewhere else and so, his hope wasn't completely faded out. It would really lighten his mood if he had someone who could talk to, even it was just a small talk about the weather.

_They chose me because of my horrific face, didn't they?_

He went upstairs to his own department, while he was wondering if he must be happy or sad with his look.

_I could have expected it, they want me as the serial killer, as the villain of this movie._

"Well, at least I got a day off, so I can check her door tomorrow," he said to himself, while the key was unlocking the door to his residence.

As an apartment, it had everything you needed to be able to live on your own. The kitchen was prepared for almost every recipe and after the meal, you could put the dishes in the dishwasher. He could wash his clothes with his own washing machine instead of the public washing rooms over in Washington.

The problem, however, was laying by Uthan himself. He seldom cooked his dinner at home; he bought his meal always on his way back to his department in the capital. Due to that, he didn't have any cooking skills nor cooking knowledge, he had only a grasp of the most basic technique, the technique of boiling an egg in hot water.

"I'll miss the cereals with milk, though, the bread here is at least consumable."

The closets were slowly being filled with groceries like a pound of cheese, a varied range of sliced meat, a few small cups of butter and chocolate sprinkles. He was lucky to found a cooking book in English, so he could work on his cooking skills.

He also bought a lunch box so that he could prepare his lunch if he wanted too. Today somewhere around 12 o'clock, the lunch boxes of every person around him unfolded their precious sandwiches, which was sometimes only a slice of cheese or what seemed like chocolate paste.

_It seems that I must adopt myself to the country and the role in the movie. However, I am not that happy with the latter._

His dinner of today were instant noodles, together with a boiled egg. The variety of ingredients that he could find in the local supermarket was large in seize, but it was changed to a more divers arsenal of styles, from European to Asian via South America and on the way back the Middle-East.

While he was enjoying his ordinary meal, he laid the script in front of to read the scenes that he was going to play over two days.

His first scene was meant as promotion material, a sneak preview of the plot that was going to peak the audience's interest. The reason for the so-called scene zero was the fact that the original actor was famous over in Japan and that it also would feature Ruri Hijiribe as one of the main actors.

His scene was centred around his first victim, who he needed to kill by banging the victim's head against a solid wall. The notations suggested a gloomy lighting set-up and was asking the actor to act as intimidating as possible.

Before he went back to his apartment, the eccentric manager, who was called Max Sandshelt, questioned him if he had the strength to play the scene. He told him that it was acquired for the scene and Uthan didn't look that powerful.

In response, Uthan stated that he had learned self-defense over at the Police Academy, who had toughened him up a bit, so he would be fine on that part.

_I am worried that I might must restrain myself, my muscles are looking weak, but they really aren't._

From the view of a bystander, Uthan's body seemed to be fragile due to his length, which was with 190 centimeters pretty tall for an American. In Washington he would stay out in the crowd, but here in Rotterdam, he could hide himself in the public if he wanted.

Almost everybody would be surprised when he showed his strength and agility. He wasn't that hefty, but his flexibility made it more than worth. So far back as he could remember, he has gotten always that physicality, even in his younger days at home.

He would play with his father, crawling and romping around the furniture until one of them was exhausted of the activity. He had for a child a normal recovery rate, his bones would recover as fast as every kid would do at his age.

Like normal families will do, his family loved him for what he was, cause even in his childhood, he was wearing that eerie face.

In kindergarten, the naivety of the children made them less suspicious about his looks and he had an enjoyable time, which quickly turned into a test of endurance at elementary school.

Was he strong enough to hold himself together in his new environment, to endure all the suspicion that he received?

Unfortunately, the nasty comments about his 'evilness' broke him in less than two weeks, where after he was taken care at home and became a home-thought individual.

_Why didn't you help while I was in school? Why now? Why now monster face?_

He threw the script to the corner of the room and after he putted the dirty plate in the dishwasher, he headed to his comfortable bed.

_My brain is hurting me, it needs rest. No thoughts of slamming and cracking the skull of an unconscious person against a wall._

His actions for the scene were already repeating in his head, while he was brushing his teeth. The reflection of the mirror changed almost to a film screen with his scene projecting on it.

_Shut up head, just shut the fuck up._

As much as he wished, his last thoughts before he fell asleep were the details of the murder.


	5. Take a Seat and Rest

Chapter 5: Take a Seat and Rest

_At a bar, somewhere in the city..._

_It seems that both of them choose to not visit the bar tonight. They could have an interesting conversation if they proceed with the discussion of yesterday._

As much as he like to hear these two regulars talking with each other, he had enough other guests to serve tonight. Normally, he wouldn't say it, but the business was going well.

The poor drank their worries and negative thoughts away, while the rich drank almost literally their money with a mood of unhappiness, due to not knowing where to spend it on. With such a cliff in inequality between these two groups, it appeared that alcohol united them with peace in the most pacifistic definition of the word.

Sometimes the two groups clashed with each other, giving the other the fault of their own misery. Otherwise, while the colourful and taming liquid was flowing, they started to agree with each other on topics that were less grounded in reality. Both groups got their ideas about how to live, but in the end, they agreed that you must make the most out of it.

While his last guest was leaving the place, which was remarkable with the alcohol consumption, a new pair hurried into the bar.

"I hope we don't annoy you with our request, but please let us sleep here for tonight," the seductive lady asked to him.

_Wait, isn't that our _Kroegtijger_? She looked worrisome, what is happened to her. What is she thinking?_

It took for him a whole minute to get used to her new appearance, the femme fatal impression was much stronger than last time, but was feeling off due to absent of the long sharp nails that almost defined the type.

"Uhm, why do you say us?", he questioned her in a confused matter. However, it became clear when he met the appearance of a tired teenager. He looked her in the eyes, like he always did with new visitors. He must admit that first impressions weren't always right and that it didn't completely categorize everyone in a specific box, but the first impressions, especially of a stranger's eye, were good enough to get a genuine grasp of them.

Her eyes were as a clear blue sky, though, but bad weather was going to replace the scenery soon.

_She's looking frightened, what is going on with her?_

"I don't have two extra beds, I always live all by myself," he explained to her. He doesn't want to refuse her, but he spoke the truth about his situation.

"That doesn't matter, for my part we can sleep on the couch and the floor." Her counter argument was cold and seriously, the melodramatic speech that she normally used when she was ranting about the miserable state of the world, was completely gone in her comment.

"Are you sure about it, I haven't cleaned it for almost two weeks, so I don't know if it's healthy," he replied in all his honesty, though, her face started to shift to a more expressive one.

The sweat started to come out of his skin, when she turned a knife close to his chin, while his face remained calm and natural.

"There are more troublesome things in life than hygiene," was her short answer. He saw how she held the blade, it appeared almost natural to her. The fast reaction after his comment, the way how she wielded it, the strained muscle that could act in less than a second, it felt in place with the image of her in his mind. However, there was something off.

"You look afraid," he remarked, the feeling of infinite silence was present in his whole body.

"Yes, of course, we are afraid. Members of The Rotters are searching for us, so who wouldn't be," she stated with a desperate voice, where after she pushed the girl upside the stairs, behind the workplace.

"I will pay you back, but not today," she promised and disappeared to the first floor too.

She was lucky, because the next second, the door of the bar flew was getting opened and a group of five men, who looked like henchmen, stepped inside the building. They were dressed up as burglars, almost completely in black, but he noticed the many pockets on their trousers, which indicate work clothing.

_There you have them, just an inch too late._

"Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I am cleaning the glasses now, so you can't order a drink anymore," he stated calm and polite. Every new guest for his bar, was a welcome one to him, even henchmen and scumbags.

_He looks like a rebel, but his eyes are more serious than others of his kind. It seemed that he only borrows the look of his earlier stage of life._

"We don't want to drink, we are looking for a woman, that's all. Can we look around here?", one of them replied. Normal bosses of his kind would demand it, or asking it with an intimidate voice, however, his men were surprised by the calmness of his request_._

"Well, as long as you aren't breaking or damaging anything, I am fine with it," he spoke and putted his last dried glass in the display case.

"Well, you have heard him, but don't break anything," the rebel leader said and while the rest was searching for the woman, he started a conversation with the bartender.

"Can I ask you what's up above you?", he started with a question. He was pointing towards the ceiling.

"That's my apartment, if I am honest, I also want a lady to company me, because I am single, but I prefer that she would find me, instead of the reverse. However, there are man who want to find their true love, so personally I don't mind."

He himself, Edwin Göterson, wasn't an active type, he would only give Yvan his glass before he ordered it. For the rest of the visitors, he would wait for their orders.

"Please don't tell the police of our visit, we don't like their involvement in our business," the leader requested to him.

"You don't have to worry about, this place itself isn't legal either, so I won't contact them. The only thing that the government knows about me, is the fact that I am here in the Netherlands, if I want better public security, then I would go to my homeland," he confessed to the boss.

"You know, I like you, I didn't expect that from a formal guy like yourself. I don't have a close bond with them either, they can be dicks, so we are standing on the same side of the society."

"I am not sure about that, I won't ask you about your business, but I have a bad feeling about it," Edwin's voice held a hint of suspicion, which felt more like a joke then a true statement.

"Well, there are worse jobs to do, even dirtier ones than ours," the leader said, before he got the report of his staff that they couldn't find her.

"Well, it was fine to meet you, we are done for today, so enjoy your night, because we are going further with the search."

The door was closed carefully, which after he looked upstairs.

_What have she done to them, what is the reason of looking for her?_

He locked the door and cleaned the floor in his calmness and headed upstairs after the clean-up.

_\- At Edwins living space above the bar…_

_This is all my fault, that's the truth of the situation._

She offered herself to sleep on the ground, where there was no mattress and only a blanket and a poorly stuffed pillow.

"No, you will sleep on the bench, even when you have dragged me into this, it would be inevitable for me on a later point."

She watched how the woman was preparing the mattress for herself. The teenager looked to the improvised sleeping place and imagined a bed of a prisoner, which should be her place after the thing that she had done.

_They wanted me, they are searching for me, not you. You couldn't do anything about the situation, because I have dragged you down with me._

In everyone's life, there will be a point where you figure things about yourself that you would never notice otherwise. Life is a constant traffic of situations, which will bounce off of your personality and circumstances.

For her, it was a month ago, when she figured out what it was for herself.

_I am not wise or completely white like in the myths and I am not a witch either. I might be not the choice for this type of creature._

It was evening, when she first started to notice it. It had rained the last couple of days and as a result, there were a lot of pools on the street, formed by the inequal surface of the sidewalks. She had walked through some unavoidable water pools to discover later at home that her shoes weren't wet, like how they were supposed to.

The curiosity and a specific desire drove her to the web, the web that was called Internet, an seemingly infinite source of information, grouped together by people with interest in all kind of matters: science, public news, economic developments, media and entertainment or the more obscure parts of life, like myths and supernatural phenomenon. A simple and short phrase on a searching engine revealed a lot information about different folklore and mythical creatures in the Netherlands.

When she specified her research and started to type in more detailed terms, she found out that she was one of them, she was one of the creatures that you would only hear in fairy tales and horror stories, she was a _Witte Wieve_.

A _Witte Wieve_, translated to a white and or wise woman, was a figure in Dutch folklore who haunted brave men when they are in the wood while there was thick fog hanging over the place. The lectures on the Internet about this figure, described them as herbalists, who had wisdom and knowledge.

It had everything that she needed, everything that she craved, everything that she wanted, everything to be not counted as normal or worse, average.

Normal clothes, normal parents, normal family and friends and like everyone, a normal boring life. The discovery of this supernatural part of her changed her ordinary mundane life to an extraordinary one, the endless repeating cycle of normal boring will still go on, but it was now more bearable now she has found that abnormal part of herself.

_It's my fault that I have been spotted, it's my fault that they are chasing us, it's my fault for putting you both in danger due to my actions._

She did what most curious people will do when they find out that they are supernatural, they want to know what their limits are and so did she. She had simple grasp of what kind of abilities she had by reading the folklore on the Internet and she wanted to try them out, to test if they were really real, terrified by the idea that she may turn out to be just a normal person.

_It doesn't have to change my ordinary life, just something that makes me standing out in the crowd, just something that makes me less normal._

That was her point, that was her stance, her point of perspective, though, some people seemed to disagree with her life philosophy.

She kept her identity secret to everyone around her and when she tries something out with her abilities, she would be aware of her surroundings, carefully trying to not attract the wrong kind of people to herself. However, it seems that she has failed in being invisible for others and so, she had piqued interest of some worrisome people.

She didn't know for which reason she was being chased, the only thing she knew definitely was that they came from the grimy side of the society.

"I must admit, you didn't lie," she heard a man talking, while she was laying on the bench.

_I don't want to change their lives; they will suffer because of me._

"I have never said that I would lie to you. Whatever, I was guaranteed to meet their kind, these burglars," the lady commented without care as if she accepted a cruel fate.

She knew that she couldn't do it alone, so she begged someone for help, but that person couldn't help her and was dragged into this mess, together and due to her.

"I won't ask what's going on, because I am just weak in fights. I won't tell the police either, I think you have heard my conversation with him.', the man replied

_How does he classify himself as weak? How could someone stay that calm in a situation that I have caused? He's definitely strong, which I won't say about myself._

"Can I make use of the bath room, I need to clean something," she requested and without asking any question, like he had said, he gave her the permission to do so.

"A little advice, whatever you're going to clean, do the same with your make-up. If they have seen you, it will be better to look completely different and I bet that's going to happen when you wash your face. Nobody could stay the same with such a filler lay on their face," he added his advice, while he put the radio on. He changed his radio station to the classical one, which will comfort them in their sleep.

"However, you only can stay here for two days. An acquaintance of mine will come by then and I don't like explaining events and stuff that I don't know off."

_Even I don't know everything what's going on. Even I don't know why they are searching for me._

She grabbed her cell phone and send a message to her parents that she slept by a friend of her, so that she didn't pull her own parents into her self-made mess.

"I want to apologize to you, because-", she was interrupted by the small adrenaline shot, when she stood in the door post of the bath room. She could see what the lady was cleaning and it didn't comfort her. She saw how the woman was cleaning a knife, the red colored water gave her the hint that she washed the blood of the knife.

"You don't have to, but I appreciate if you don't see what I am doing here right now," the woman's voice was a tired one, like a household mother who also had a job coming home from work. Both of them were exhausted as a resulted of this hectic night for them both.

One of them admitted their fatigue, the other wouldn't confessed to herself that her energy was squeezed out by the event that happened.

That person walked back to the bench, and started to stare mindlessly to the ceiling, before admitting her defeat at the very end of her awakened state.

"She was really spent and I won't deny that it isn't the case with me," the motherly voice said, worried about the condition of the teenager on the bench.

"I will still be awake for like an hour, so you don't have to worry about them now. I hope that they will give up the search," the man responded. From his seat, he watched how the woman laid on the mattress, the last thing she murmured was:

"Hopefully, but their search will get fuelled."

_At Emily's home..._

"Emily, have you done your homework for tomorrow? Just do something useful," the concerned voice of a mother said from her position in the kitchen.

"Yes mam, of course I have done my homework, there's nothing I can do anymore!", a younger female voice responded from the bench in the living room. If felt comfortable, but it was less luxurious then the bench of one her client's.

_I still can't believe that he didn't eat me or bite me in the neck. I would personally prefer the latter option; you could never know what will happen then to me._

Her encounter with the terrifying and charming man was in her eyes a rollercoaster of emotions. The thrills of meeting the pale face, the awkwardness that became their conversation with a lot of stuttering and the relaxed state that he left behind on her body. She wore the same pants as yesterday and so; she picked her unintended memory of their meeting. She got his address, handed to her by the man himself:

Rosenveldtstraat_ 37_

_Rotterdam_

_Apartement __14_

Her pose on the bench was like always a bored one, she had tried all kinds of hobbies, from extreme sports to art classes, but she couldn't find her calling. However, she wanted to be fit and active, so she was hanging on a sport that could help her later.

"Don't you have to babysit?", her mother asked her, trying to put some energy in her daughter's body. As long as the mother only talked to her, then the signs of boredom wouldn't disappear.

"No, tomorrow is my next work day, his daughter is nice, cheerful, careless and almost energetic. My job is to keep an eye on her when he isn't home," she replied.

_If he had eaten me, would I then be enough for him, or would he also eat Stefana after he had consumed me? Was a really a vampire, what could I have done with the umbrella against a being like him._

As much as she wanted to believe in the fact that he was a vampire, she questioned if it would make a difference for her. Would she get excited about him for a few minutes and then get bored again? Or would it be instantly normal to her? And what if she figures out that he was playing along with her fantasies? Would she really get a passion due to him?

Her mother has advised her many times if she wanted a diary to write her thoughts in, to release parts of the CPU-usage of her brain and mind. If would be a mess, if she hadn't refused her mother's offer, due to that her topics inside the brain were jumping from one point to another and which occurred random.

Both of her parents had noticed her very strong imagination and tried to push her to a direction, where she could make use of that talent. She could remember an old place and immediately knowing where her location was, which indicated that her spatially rendering was one of her strongest points. She wouldn't get herself lost; she could image an almost accurate map of her environment.

_What's he doing here, why did he come to Rotterdam to begin with?_

Like how many would notice it, she observed his astonished face when she talked almost fluent English to him. As a native, she has easily noticed that he was a native English speaker, due to the funny pronunciation of Dutch street names.

_Shall I look for him tomorrow night? It would be an entertaining and refreshing conversation for me._

Language wasn't the issue for here, she had the languages of German, French, Greek and even Latin lesson at her disposal, due to her education on school. The idea of him being a vampire was still in her head and had spread doubt in herself: Is it responsible to engage an entity like him?

_His eyes were pretty, I could stare hours to it, imagine the huge space wars that are happening in that universe that was the inside of eyes. Even when his face and expression were eerily, I wasn't scared or bored by them._

She yawned, the mouth widen itself to her maximum extent, which reminded her of the reason why she chose to take a job as a baby sitter. It wasn't a surprising motif; it was just straight out boredom. She could entertain herself easily with another person around her and the child that was her most frequent companion was almost an atomic engine, powered by hyper active radium.

But with this type of reactors comes a back lash, when the child runs out of energy and starts to sleep, then she could barely keep her own eyes open, her energy level drops down to zero. It wasn't due to exhaustion; it was purely that she wasn't built to live alone. She was an extravert after all, people who charge themselves up by interacting with another person.

She checked the chatroom with friends, sending a message so that she could have someone where she could talk with. As she waited for a response, she was feeling how the planet's gravity was pulling her down.

_Come on, there must be someone to chat with, they all can't be busy, can't they? Everyone has his own agenda, but they all needed a little bit of spare time, so they can't only do their homework._

She looked mindlessly at the screen while she waited on an answer, a simple fish to pick her bait.

One minute...

Two minutes...

No replies received yet...

Three minutes...

Four minutes...

The chat didn't progress, it couldn't progress with just one person active.

Five minutes and still no message, her mind started to get impatient and was wondering to the realm of imagination.

_What kind of powers would he have if we excluded normal vampire powers and abilities? Walking on walls would be a funny one to think about, but it doesn't make sense. Do we count super strength to their basic form or is it an extra feature? And what about healing, would they recover extremely fast?_

"Emily!", a voice called her, unable to penetrate her shield of thought.

_Do they have multiple forms, like what they do with some game bosses? How do they camouflage themselves, with make-up or do they look normal? He doesn't seem to wear a camouflage._

"Emily!"

She got a shock from the hand that touched her shoulder, with a small jump she encountered the worrisome face of her mother and she knew where she was worrying about.

"It's happening with you again, you were getting dreamy again," the mother said to her daughter.

Silence began to alienate the living room.

"Dinner is ready, so we are asking to joining us at the table and enjoy your meal," her mother explained and due to the interaction, Emily immediately stood on her foot to proceed to the kitchen where the table was.


	6. The Ordinary, Usual and Mundane

Chapter 6: The Ordinary, Usual and Mundane

_In a bed room…_

When the sun was saying good morning through the window, Kasuka opened his moody eyes and started to yawn. It seemed that he didn't have a good night of sleep and as he got remember to that awful fight yesterday's evening, he expressed a faint painful smile, while his hair wasn't suited for today's event. As normally this would look for almost every other person, is seems that there was something off with this whole scene, a tiny but noticeable issue.

"Cut!"

_That didn't go well, there is a better face for this situation. My brother has described me the face of his friend after an enthusiastic night with his girlfriend._

"It looks good, but it can better. I can't put my finger on it, but it seems that still to light hearted for this whole scene," the conductor of this movie said. Matt Parterico was a close friend of Sandshelt and their reunion was completely odd to outsiders.

_That's said lightly, my character will agree with you._

"Okay Hanejima, are you ready for take two?", he shouted with the same excited volume and pitch as Max did.

A simple nod from Kasuka and a simple finger snap from Matt did reset everything on the stage.

"And start!"

There's a remarkable phenomenon in the world, a seemingly anomalous observation around the activities in the brain and where they occur. The brain is a huge mystery to the scientific community and due to that, there is a vast amount of research going to our fatty control room.

Two things or tasks, who are closely linked by the logic in this world, are separated entities in the brain, as it was a secret dimension with a twisted sense of logic.

For instance, people who are stuttering while they were having a conversation, could tell their stories, experiences and emotions clear without that hurdle when they were singing about it. The scans of the brain were the evidence that they occur in different areas of our brain.

For Kasuka, it was the same with another subset of concepts, that were logical connected in this world, but not in our minds.

Playing and expressing were words that match their descriptions and were smashed together by the film industry. However, it appeared that they were also disconnected in the same way as singing and speaking did.

A yawn appeared on Kasuka's face, it was the sign of bad sleeping or having a nightmare. Though, it wasn't his own yawn, it was the yawn of his appointed character. The character that he played by following his script, with a personality divided from his own stale one.

It was a lonely detective, who only got love from his fiancé, who was also his colleague and was embodying the post-modern idea of a detective. An isolated and silent detective, passive in his manner and his methods, because why wouldn't he, the lady was taking the active lead, trying to drag him out of his own misery.

The laid-back or the almost mentally broken detective has got his own heavy luggage of emotions and feelings: The feeling of meaning nothing to the world, a sparkle of joy deeply in his head, his moderate sense of romance and passion about his work.

All these traits were stored inside the character, while Kasuka acknowledge that he lacked all of them. He could play his written character in detail, with all the right emotions and feelings. He could smile, burst out in laughter, feeling envy to a specific person and could be sunken desperately into his own so-called dark hour, if the script and the plot of the film was asking for him to act in that way.

He, as Kusaka Heiwajima, so as himself, didn't have that ability to express himself emotionally. He couldn't laugh when a friend is making dirty and bad jokes, he couldn't cry when a family member has passed away. He could understand why people do certain things when they were in a specific mood, however, he found himself incapable of reproducing emotions, like if he was a robot.

Because for him, playing a feeling is different than expressing that exactly same emotion. Of course, he could play his emotions like how he did with his assigned characters, but his principals were completely against it.

_This is how I turned out in the long run, because I am honest about myself, I wouldn't lie to my own family and friends, or even colleagues._

"Great shot, we take this one for the scene," the director said passionately and turned to the man behind him, who was looking satisfied with Kasuka's performance. Heiwajima was not for nothing one of Jack O'Lantern's nation-wide talents.

"Hanejima, you can take a rest. Let's hope that miss Hijiribe is prepared for her first action scene."

The film set wasn't advanced, the city gave the film crew two large warehouses next to each other. When Sandshelt heard that there wasn't an office or a private room the actors, he acted and arranged two mobile houses to introduce privacy to the set.

The vast door of the left warehouse opened, the heavy low sound of metal scraping over the concrete and a nicely suited man appeared in the opening.

_It's agreeable to assume that he is the councillor who made this all possible._

"I haven't heard your voice yet, but I can bet that you're the councillor of the city who made this happen, am I right?", Matt's tone was relaxed, like if he met an old good friend after a huge amount of time.

"Okay everyone, let's take a break!"

The man appeared to be in his fifties, his hair started to get grey and they were enough signs that his body was getting old.

"I just want to see how it's going, nothing more and nothing less. This isn't meant as an unplanned checking," he apologized.

"It's an honour to meet you, mister…", Max didn't know the name of the visitor and due to that he fell flat with his welcoming speech. With the open arms of Sandshelt full in his sight, he sighed deeply

"The name is Berker, Henry Berker," he said with disappointment. That wasn't an expression that people often used when they met the president of the talent agency, they chose more often for a face that expressed unease.

"So, it's Henry-kun!", reacted Max with bursting enthusiasm.

The councillor displayed disgust and unease for this shaming reply.

_It would be earlier Berker-sama, however, Sandshelt-kun is getting the hang of the honorific system. It's already better than the Honey-chan that he uses for me all the time._

"Well, you see, Sandshelt is living in Tokyo, Japan and he's pretty fascinated with the culture over there," Matt explained it to Henry to comfort him, which didn't seem to work.

Maybe, Sandshelt didn't know the meaning of the 'chan' after a name or he just used it for the teasing. Over the years he learned that the honorifics were the equivalent of the English nouns for mister, madam and miss. However, 'chan' is normally only used when you show a huge affection to the person. 'Sama' is the safe spot, it would be never completely wrong.

The chairs who were reserved for the actors where made of plastic and to ease it a bit, they had pillows on them. While Kasuka was taking a seat and was drinking from the cheap looking water bottle, he observed the man in suit.

_There's something that I can't pinpoint, a small detail that won't fit into the picture._

"You don't like him, is that it?", a lovely voice suddenly said.

Ruri wasn't talkative today and communicate with him by expression. It was almost three years, since they were spotted together in his Ferrari. If they excluded their work, then they have lived two years in company of each other.

For them, it happened to be long enough to see just the other's face to communicate. Even Ruri, got the hang of reading his expression, which never switched. However, it would be much harder if he didn't have a head.

"Something feels off, that's all," Heiwajima responded. Not liking the councillor already was a step too far for him. He didn't want to prejudge somebody on their first impression, it's was noble and understandable principal for someone like him. For this case, he only marked the visitor as suspicious.

Kasuka's emotionless expression drew the attention of that very same man to himself and he heard the question that came out of Berker-sama's mouth.

"May I ask who that actor is?", Henry said and only nodded with his head to Kasuka. It appeared that pointing towards someone was rude over here.

"That's Yuuhei Hanejima, one of the big talents of the Jack O'Lantern Agency over in Japan," Max responded with a smile of a fanatic fanboy. In some cases, he could be even more ludicrous than Yuuhei's female fans.

However, he respected the actor's privacy and wished and kept his real name secret. The councillor wouldn't notice it and it will be easier for Kasuka if nobody over here knew his real name.

"And I suppose that the lady close to him is Ruri Hijiribe."

"An excellent observation mister Berker," Max hold himself in to don't spit the same kinky name.

Henry Berker was a film lover and due to that passion, he heard many times of the talented make-up artist, who was called Ruri Hijiribe. He had admired her work in the special effects department of the industry and was thrilled to see her in action with his own eyes. What kind of person was she really? Did she have stage fright or was she going to be an attention-freak?

"All right, the break is over guys, let's starts with the first fighting scene. I know that you have been on television before and played some minor roles in tv-series, that's what Max told me. However, you still can be nervous for your first major role, so let's make this recording a fun time," Parterico said to cheer her up.

Kasuka couldn't read minds, however, he had observed people long enough to know what was going on in their heads.

_He is feeling uncomfortable with me staring to his back, he would probably don't like me for that very specific reason._

Hanejima went back to the mobile house between the two warehouses, trying to contact his older brother to told that everything was fine over here.

_At a primary school..._

"Look what I have made!', a girl with short blond hair and a healthy coloured skin shouted over the school square and ran straight into the hands of the tall man to show him her work.

"That's looking amazing, do you have a nice day with your friends?", the father said, with the bass voice that he possesses.

Your profession doesn't determine your personality, which counts the same for the reverse of the two. There are lots of people, whose job don't match with their attitude and for Yvan, that's a good thing.

_Nothing is set, everyone is free to go where he wants to and you can choose your own path in life. I've already decided mine and I hope for my daughter that she will walk her own path._

He lifted her off the ground with his hands, like if it was nothing and gave her a small kiss on her cheeks.

_There's nothing rarer and more precious than the cheerful and energetic spirit of my own daughter, she's almost a threatening nuke from the fallen Soviet Union. My daughter, Stefana, is my own holy relic of which I can't thank God enough._

"Yeah, can I visit them next week?", the child said, when she sat on the shoulders of the intimidating looking man. His face was full of happiness and didn't notice the suspiciously staring of the other parents on the school square; or did he notice them, but did nothing against it?

It was the second guess; he didn't mind what these adults thought about him. Why should he do that in the first place? He knew the truth about himself. There were naturally rumours around him being a dealer, a merchant of the dark side, selling drugs, weapons or other illegal products.

He couldn't deny that he sold weapons, because that was true. He had a decent arsenal of rare weapons, limited edition's guns and custom made fire arms. All of them were waiting to get bought by the right client for the right price, a good price.

However, as much as people will tell others about it, he never touched drugs and if his principals were standing high like they always did, he won't take any form of illegal and or dangerous drugs.

His methods may be rude to outsiders who don't know of from who he got the methods from, but they were never dirty or nasty and the people he fought had deserved the hard hitting and well-balanced punches that he gave to them for free.

He was a salesman, a merchant, someone who trades in antiques, rare items and extraordinary products.

However, people could easily see that his daughter was dearer to him than an object with the price tag of over the one trillion, because Stefana was priceless.

"You can, this week is a bit busy for me, so if you want company at day, I can bring you to your mom," he answered her question on the way back to his home.

To say that Stefana's parents were divorced wasn't that much of stretch, but they only lived apart from each other. She just didn't want to be associated with the man who's known for his 'shady' business, so they lived separated while they had a healthy romantic relationship.

"Can I get a cookie?", his daughter requested gently, when he closed the door behind them. She ran through the living room to the kitchen where the cookies were stored in one of the high placed shelfs. He sighed while he smiled, he couldn't say simply no to her, but he doesn't want to give her everything see asks for.

"We are just home," he commented. "But okay, only this time."

_At least I can give her small life lesson with this opportunity._

With an eager face, she saw how Yvan opened one of the shelfs in the hypermodern kitchen. The whole interior wasn't that luxurious, the most expensive objects in the house weren't the electronics, but rather the high-quality leathered bank and the old antique book shelf, who was standing at the wall.

The box with cookies was visible in his hand, grabbed with his vast right hand. However, he held it right for his eyes on his length, what was unreachable for his daughter.

"That's unfair daddy, I can't reach it," Stefana said with an annoyed expression on her lovely soft face. The reason why she was annoyed was that he did this on purpose.

"That's right, you can't. You haven't grown enough by yourself or I am too tall for you, maybe even both," he simply commented calm and it made him smile even more.

At the moment that she started to form tears under her eyes, which will lead to an outcry, he patted her on the hat and took her to traditional couch in the living room. He had putted the box back on the shelf, that wasn't going to be the focus anymore.

"Listen Stefana, not everything will go easily in life, it's just like now. Even I have sometimes days where everything turns out different than I had planned."

_Speaking of which, I heard that there was a Japanese actor laid in the hospital. Could it be him, he did look like a foreigner._

"In response to these obstacles in your life, you could do three different things:

First, accept that it isn't in your reach. Maybe you don't have the talent for it or you've tried it, but it makes you more annoyed.

Second, you need to grow and develop. You could take that literally, like with the box of cookies, you need to physically grow to be able to grab the box from the shelf. You could it also interpret figuratively by obtaining skills to achieve your goal, growing stronger as a person.

And as last, you can wait until the box comes closer to you and then grab it. Sometimes, there will be only one chance for the thing that you want. So, you wait for tit and take the opportunity with both hands when it happens."

She was startled by the small lecture that her father has given to her, it seemed like a lot of choices to her, even when they were three simple options.

"So, what will you do in the current situation?", Yvan questioned her and waited patiently for her response. The small silence that felt in the room, indicated that she was thinking about these choices. Her mind was sorting the options into categories and boxes, examining her current limits and abilities to come up with a reasonable conclusion.

"I'll wait for it and try it another time when I am taller!", she said cheerful with an almost bursting spirit.

"That's right, don't give up, only delay you dream of that delicious chocolate chip cookie and maybe I will bring it closer to you in the future, because you never know when it's going to happen," he applauded her and gave her another pair of kisses.

"By the way, I asked Emily to come by. She also likes your company and she's eager to talk with somebody, I heard that she had an encounter with the new resident of number 14."

"Yeah, Emily!", his daughter shouted enthusiastically through the whole room, you could even hear it on the toilet.

_At the local supermarket..._

It was Friday, which meant that there was discount at the local supermarket. As the cheap speakers played one of the general radio stations through the filter of their spectrum, a man started to become relaxed, while he was shopping for the weekend.

_I couldn't find her yesterday's night, but she couldn't be one of them, Joey saw her too, which means..._

"Can I help you?", an employee of the supermarket spoke to him in a common honest fashion. He has stood by the vegetables for almost five minutes, a time long enough for the employees to worry about him and ask if he was okay.

He himself, didn't know how long he stood there, he could only think about one person, someone who wasn't an acquaintance of him. He was more like a stranger to her, she didn't anything about him and for him was it almost the same, he had a reason to see her.

He stared confused to her and after that he looked on his watch.

_For how long have I been here?_

"No thanks, I can find it by myself," he said.

He resumed with his planned activities, grabbing a finished salad from the cooling for today's dinner and taking the vegetables for next few days.

On the way to the cash desk, he grabbed a few dried sausages and few bottles of soda for the evenings.

_After this, I need to go to the therapist and maybe the drugs store, however, first I need some sweets to pep myself up._

The well-known chocolates and candy bars were on the discount and because of that, they were stalled separately from the rest of the products.

"!"

Abruptly he dropped his shopping cart out of his hands and started to distant himself from the chocolate bars. In his haste, he fell and hit the rack with the crisps behind him, causing a cascade of falling crisps bags onto his head. The whole accident started to drew the attention towards him and bystanders looked in shock to the thrilling legs of him, wondering what was wrong with the poor man. Some costumers claimed to have seen a terrified expression on his face, which started to become white as bleach.

_No, no, they-they are co-coming back. Th-this cou-couldn't be true, they-they said._

Unfortunately, nobody saw the pitch-black creatures crawling from between the candies and the chocolate bars, like if they didn't even exist.

However, he knew it better, he could see them and he could almost feel the sensation of these insect-like demons walking over his back. Their eyes were small portals to hell, the underworld, the domain of the dead.

He was lucky that everything what he had picked was still in the shopping cart and went immediately to the cash desk. His feet steps were irregular, even a hurry couldn't describe the state of his walking cycle, as the tempo changed with a second. While he was hearing his fast pumping heart, his body started to work on almost only adrenaline.

_The-they are e-e-everywhere, from a-all sides._

The female cashier didn't believe when she saw him nervous waiting for her to scan all his products, while he looked after him in undefined intervals of time. With a small notion of unease, she spoke the sum of his products, so that he could pay.

"That's fourteen euros and eighty-nine cents please."

The man had already picked a carton box, who were free to take and started to pack all his groceries in. He gave the cashier a bill of twenty euros and when she wanted to give him his spare change, she witnessed him bumping into a woman, which causes to drop both of their groceries. It was startling to her that the accident was happening almost twenty meters away from her, which displayed the fact that he was walking on a high tempo, like if he was trying to escape.

"Are you alright, sir?", the lady asked friendly.

_Wha-what's going on with he-her?_

His eyes were registering the dark blood eyes of the woman after they found the sharp teeth in the corners of her mouth. As a matter of fact or fiction, he could sense her bloodlust for him.

"I am alright, I can handle it by my own!", he said unexpectedly loud, he collected his products with an extremely feeling of danger and rushed outside to the street. He wanted to go left, but due to an uncertain reason, he chose in an inch of second for going right.

_Damn, I was right all the time, he was wrong. For as long as I have feared, for as long as I have hoped for this to be true, they've hiding the truth all the time from me. Screw them, if I need to defend myself from them, then I must take the challenge, it will be for her sake._

He headed for his home, already picturing the exact location of her everlasting bed.

_At the local supermarket..._

She waited for the ATM machine to distribute her selected amount of money. The long-waited currency came out in the form of paper partly made of cotton.

_That is great, our bank account isn't blocked._

She could breathe calmly now, there was no rush anymore for her. She could relax herself, knowing that she would be safe for a time.

The night has done her wondrously good and she was confident that she was unrecognizable for the Rotters to go outside on the street, doing the shopping for tonight's dinner.

"I can treat him at least a healthy and delicious meal," she talked to herself as she was carefully looking to the quality of the displayed vegetables in the cooler.

_What shall I cook tonight? I want to let him enjoy the food._

She could take the time, all the make-up she normally wore was washed off. She took the long nails off after she left the pub the other day and didn't wore them after her choice. It was surprising to see how much a person could appear differently after cleaning themselves. The long whimpers were detached, she chose for a variant set of clothes and as the result, her look was friendlier and as mundane as everyone else.

_I am going to cook something that will satisfy our stomach for a long while, maybe I will go with mashed potatoes._

If they left his place tomorrow morning, then she would have at least the resources to live without food for almost a whole day. It was better for her if she stood hidden for a few extra days, a time long enough to completely cool their anger about her.

_Apples would be good too; I can cut and peel them always if I want to._

She still felt the presence of her kitchen knife, which she holds always in her handbag, no matter what. It was knife that her husband had given to her, however, she wouldn't say that it was a gift.

_I like a steak of quality, maybe I am getting used to the almost top-notch dinners of my clients, who want to squeeze some extra enjoyment and entertainment out of me. However, by the diverse seasonings of the steaks, I prefer the Mediterranean spices the most._

She chose for the discount steak with her preferred seasoning, she could afford a more expensive edition, but she really liked the taste of the cheaper ones.

As she heard a shopping cart falling in the distance, she proceeded to the cooler for the desserts.

_What would they like for the dessert? Tiramisu, simple ice cream or maybe cheese or chocolate cake?_

She decided to go for the latter option, as it was almost proven by science, every woman will fall in love with sweet chocolate, even when she preferred the bitter variant more.

There were a few pitstops on her route to the cashier, with one of them being the pastries department. As a preparation for the next few days, she picked four packages of breakfast bars, crunchy bars made of walnuts, dried fruit and grain, where were sticking to each other by the syrup and honey, serving as the glue of the whole thing.

_Money doesn't matter, but as a simple matter of fact, surviving does._

The last pitstop was juice, she took two plastic bottles of freshly squished orange juice, the bottles could also function as bidons, being able to refill them with water if it was necessary and that was surely going to be the case.

With the debit card in her hand, she went to the cash deck to get let her groceries scanned and paid it without any problems. She almost knew that there was enough money on their bank account, she would make sure of that, while her husband brought the extra's in, which was sometimes a huge sum of money.

The carton boxes were perfect to transport everything as nothing will fall out of her hands.

_Everything is going fine; no problems have occurred._

"!"

It seemed that faith didn't like her last thought and due to an incident on purpose of life itself, she was forced by the shock that she experienced to drop the box. She had bumped into someone, and both of their boxes fell on the ground, with her groceries still in it.

As she observed the man, who was transpiring like if his life was on the edge, she started to worry if everything was as normal as they seemed. They could be spying on her, could they?

_That's strange, I see nobody of them in the supermarket. How could it be possible to get that nervous and stressed only of work?_

Her thought lasted only for a couple of seconds, though, the man has changed from a hurried man to a desperate figure of fear, as he looked her with scared eyes to her.

"Are you alright, sir?", she asked politely, while her voice was surrounded by a calming motherly vibe.

"I am alright, I can handle it by my own!", his voice was trembling and the real reaction was a rude version of that sentence. It sounded like a homeless and drug addicted man who was defending his last property, before he would fall into the dark pit of the society.

She noticed that with a remarkable speed, he had recovered his purchases and rushed to the exit, where after he displayed some serious decision-making difficulties by pretending to go one way, but going the other way.

She paused every activity of her body, except the essential heart, to process the whole event. This was an odd accident, the anxiety around him was immensely tense, which combined with the almost hollow staring eyes, wasn't a sign for a good faith.

"He could at least say sorry, that was awfully rude," one of the bystanders commented with basic English vocabulary on the whole accident.

"Yes, you are-"

She was thrown off guard by the appearance of the man, who was in his early twenties, but was rather mature in his way of speaking. In addition to that, she clearly saw how a girl was sticking as glue to him.

_ These two aren't from here, they both wear already a cap and autumn has just begun. Furthermore, even fanatic couples around here aren't explicit as these two._

"-right," she finished the sentence who got interrupted by the odd looks of the strangers.

While the young man looked to her with a calm and blanc face, the girl was beaming all her toxicity and hate towards her.

_Don't worry about me, I have my own rules for choosing clients, he won't be one of them._

The eyes of the girl seemed to sense competition in Astrid, as if she could hijack the boyfriend in a small period. However, as Astrid holds to her principals, she won't pick any man without a reason.

"Well that's great, it's raining outside and Shingen-sama, who asked us to go shopping for tonight's dinner, sits safely and dry in our hotel room, it almost seems like he had planned this," a new woman said with a cold and cynical voice. Her eyes stuck to Astrid's mind, like what the eyes of the exchange cop did with her, but in a completely different fashion. Instead of the wondering she got from his black holes, she felt a sense of danger and anxiety from hers, an impression that you shouldn't mess with that person as her cold eyes would freeze you from the inside.

Normally, you wouldn't get that vibe from a person who worked at the laboratory, which seemed to be her job due to the lab coat she wore. However, there was a tiny change that her combination of a green turtleneck and a short red skirt underneath the coat made the almost threatening atmosphere around her.

When the couple was out of her sight, she approached Astrid very closely, with a simple and clear message for her:

"If you ever, ever lay a hand on my Seiji, then no matter where you live and hide, I will find and kill you."

The voice didn't quiver and indicated that she was really going to do it, which give Astrid an astonishing feeling of unease. She couldn't tell who of the two was that 'Seiji', but it sounded like a male name to her.

The rain outside has calmed down and urged the woman to ran outside, so that she could attach herself to the other side of the young man.

_It seems that she already has a competitor, so why does she make a fuss out me?_

Life seemed trying to warn her for the dangers ahead, though she was already aware of it and the lady was only remembering her of the situation. The thing that came up in her mind after that thought was heading home to the bar.

"This wasn't needed; however, I appreciate it very much," Edwin apologized after he finished the steak. All three of them were sitting on improvised chairs at the table in the kitchen.

"See it as a part of the payment for our nights here," she explained it to him in a business matter and continued to eat.

_This feels weird, even disturbing in some ways. Eating dinner this way has an odd and strange sensation to it._

It was yesterday, when she had eaten with her husband for the last time in her life. The silence which she felt here, was in sharp contrast with the turned-on radio and the inappropriate calls to her husband at home. The quiet atmosphere was further enhanced with the reserved personality of Edwin, while her husband would shout almost aggressively to the incoming calls from the telephone.

William Frandward, who got the title of Astrid's husband, was always a doubled coin. From his aggressive side to intruders through the electronic devices to the caring questions about her clients, out of pure curiosity. Astrid and William took both responsibility of the house hold, as he would deck and clean the table, while she was preparing the food for their dinner. His normal job would end almost automatically around four o'clock and so, they always were in each other's company around the dinner, which had a status of being a tradition that they both didn't want to break.

"Are you tired? Your dish is starting to cool off," the voice of the bartender took her out of the state of wandering off to the realm of nostalgia, the realm of the past.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me," she said uncontrolled, as the reaction was an automatic response when she was startled about her return to reality.

"No thanks, what do you say, shall I wash the dishes tonight, because you've cooked for us," he offered to her.

"Yes, please," she replied with a faint smile of nostalgia on her face. While he and the girl were cleaning and washing the dishes, she walked to the improvised bed on the ground, where she closed her eyes to focus on her heart, which started to fill with regret.

"Is she doing okay?", the girl asked to Edwin, who washed the plates with soapy hot water.

"I can't tell if she's mentally okay, however, she seemed more worn off than a normal person. Nonetheless, I don't know what's going on in her mind."

He paused his activity with a bland face towards the blond girl, who was helping him with the dishes by drying the glasses.

"If you don't mind, may I ask you what your name is? I know her name from earlier visits at the bar, but I have never heard yours."

"Could you tell me her name first, then I will give you mine," the teenager responded with the same bland expression as his face.

"It's Astrid Frandward-Meijster, she's married."

"Denise Stirlo is mine," she immediately said and resumed her drying work.


	7. Business Prep

Chapter 7: Business Prep

_In a three stars hotel with hotel rooms for duo's…_

"And what are your thoughts on the city?"

The man sat with his arms over the backrest of the chair, listening to the complains of his roommate.

"If you are going to joke about my observations today, then I hope that my toxicity will kill you," she reacted as she turns to the next page of the book that he had given to her. She didn't like the fact that it was a guide with simple phrases, tourist attractions and sightseeing places.

"I am fully aware that all of your observations are drenched in a toxic corrosive fluid, let's say that it is hydrochloric acid, piercing through almost every optimistic point of view. But let's citate the facts, how was it outside?"

"It's awful."

The man, who hid his face behind a gas mask even indoors, was sighing and turned his head towards her. He had explained earlier that the air of Europe was somewhat cleaner than the air in Asia or the United States, but in his opinion, it was still filthy.

"I mean the surroundings, not your brother Seiji-sama."

The mask man, was Shingen Kishitani, one of the main researchers of the supernatural at Nebula. There are a lot of rumours around the company that they experimented with the other-worldly and Shingen, was proud to declare that these rumours were true, they really researched the supernatural.

For the lady in the room, the comment felt extremely harsh, but she admitted that she spoke of her younger brother. It was really a pain to see him together with another girl, who lived by the name of Mika Harima.

"Why do we need to have two instead of three rooms in this hotel? And why is it necessary that I am stuck with a freak like you?", she questioned with an almost infinite sharp tongue

"That's because Nebula knows that I am married and that you are madly in love," he said to her, where after he realised that he has chosen a wrong word in his answer.

"Or is being obsessive a better description for your state of mind? I am open to feedback."

"Shut up already!", she commanded and turned to the bath room with the priority to calm down.

People know what love can do to a person, but they are really underestimating the toxicity of incest, which was the case with her. She, as Namie Yagiri - the former head of their family's company's lab and the secretary of a certain info broker, who was in Shinjuku, next to Ikebukuro – has fallen in love with Seiji Yagiri, her younger brother.

Due to that, she marked Mika Harima as her archnemesis. With that in mind, the best option was to place Namie together with Shingen. If they put Mika and Namie together for the nights, then it would be very likely that only one of them survives the night. Of course, you could let the Yagiri duo sleep together, though, Seiji refused to sleep with her. Even with him as the most reasonable person, people considered the group as insane, due to his obsession and undying love for a clear cut-off head.

_ I have been here before; it's reminding me of that werewolf investigation that I led here._

With his feet on an iron cube he brought with him and a laptop on his upper legs, he opened the news site of his home town Ikebukuro. He also tried to contact his own son, but it seemed that he was busy with his job as an underground black doctor.

_It seems that people have been kidnapped over there. They all disappeared when they were searching for The Black Rider, also known as The Headless Rider, so people are accusing him of kidnapping these seekers. I don't think that she would ever do that, she has adopted too many human values to be considered evil._

He heard water streaming from the bath room, small fractions of damp were coming out of all the little openings around the door.

_So, she is taking a shower. I wish I had the courage, like my own son, to simply open the door._

He organized the things that he had done today, which was something different from what he normally did. Today, he had observed just normal people and animals, for as far as he could find them. It was something that would shake his daily routine and let him rest from his work on the extra-ordinary.

His feet were resting on the metal box, who was a special delivery to Nebula's lab over in the United States, Las Vegas. The content a clean cut-off head, perfectly preserved in a liquid. Normally, such a head would be cold in the time span of a half hour, but this head was warm, like if it was almost living as a complete human being.

_Sometimes, there is just one person or head causing all the problems in the city. At least, it's quiet over here._

"A little question, why isn't your wife with you? It would guarantee my own private hotel room."

The door was still closed, however, Shingen hid the cubic box under his bed. Seiji wasn't the only one obsessed with the head. In fact, all Kishitani's companions were eager to get it earlier than the others and each had their own twisted and disturbed reason for it.

"She's ahead of us to start the prepping work for the research," he answered. The sound of falling water was over, she could open the door every second now.

"Secondly, she gets seasick extremely fast, even at the beach, she could be becoming ill from the salty air. I have already given advise to her, but she refuses to put the mask on at the beach."

"I would do the same, a woman's beauty is her face, she wants to show it to the public," he got an explanation from Yagiri, who came out of the bath room with a towel wrapped around her hair. She walked to her bed, that she separated from his, she doesn't want to share the bed sheet with a man like him, because there was only one man for her.

"That is-"

Shingen weighted the words on his head and decided to change a few words here and there.

"-not always correct. Some would argue that a person's beauty lies in their personality, others will claim that they're liking people due to curves or origin. There isn't any scientific proof that the head is their main feature."

She sighed by the familiar examples that he'd given her. She tried to change the topic of the conversation and succeed due to the object on Shingen's bed.

"What's that antique pocket watch from Indonesia doing on your bed?", she asked with the voice of a smart secretary, which reminded her of her previous work.

"I guess ticking, but if you want a clear answer; it's an order of an acquaintance that I am going to meet tomorrow at a bar," he said without any specifications.

"So that explains our stop in Jakarta."

"Yes, it does, he is a rather interesting dealer; not only in his appearance, but also in an ability of him. People will call it an extra-ordinary one."

Kishitani laid on his bed, looking to the ceiling. He had changed his outfit to his pyjama, still wearing the gas mask.

"Is that not the same as supernatural? Because, we are slowly getting used to switch from extra-ordinary to supernatural," she questioned him with a cold voice. In the whole small talk, her tone hasn't changed and it will never be.

"Nope, their definitions in my research field aren't the same. They differ only on a few parts, though. I want to share my thoughts about it with you, but I confess that I am not sure if you would understand it."

_If you even can't tell the difference between the normal and the abnormal, then I won't tell you the varied degrees of the abnormal._

She winked with her eyes, taking the time to settle the reply. With an enormous amount of envy, she stated the next sentence:

"You're are even weirder than that perverted son of yours. It's utterly disgusting."

"Well, we are back at our talk about the city atmosphere. So, let's citate the facts, how was it outside?"

_At the film set..._

"And action!"

The puppets head got slammed against the wall of concrete, who was fulfilling his purpose. The serial killer gave the lifeless body a careful examination, to check if it was really dead.

He dragged the corpse of the dummy to the chair to dump it there on the chair without respect.

_They told me to act intimidating, hopefully this is enough._

"Cut! That was great, good work!"

The scene got lighted and Matt as the director was complimenting Uthan for his first performance.

"However, let's try to make it even more realistic with next recordings of this scene. If you could hold that vibe around you for all the scenes, then it would look astonishing threatening."

_It's not that I am confident with my role, though. I will try it without feeling uncomfortable about it._

The man behind the director's chair had a huge smile on his face and began to clap like a young unexperienced child.

"Impressive, maybe I am going to consider to set up a contract for you. Your strength is really an amazing feature that will come handy later," he complimented with a slightly higher pitch than normal and looked to Parterico for confirmation.

"Matt, I think the fighting scene are going to be better than you can imagine," he said to his friend in the director chair.

The original idea was to make the fighting scenes look real, but with Uthan as a police man, they could make the fights a complete reality.

"Clearly, just this scene a few times over and two extra scenes with him as the main actor for the sneak preview. After that, he can practise together with Ruri, trying to improvise moves for their shared action scenes."

One of the staff members gave Uthan a water bottle. With sweat on his forehead and the first successful shot behind him, he started to drank eagerly from it.

_This is harder than I thought. These actors need some more respect, especially the minor ones._

They had to adjust the durability of the fabricated skulls multiple times. He had crushed the first two with ease and so, he was already covered with fake blood. They said that he needed to smash the skull with full force, but he was already restraining him and it was still too much.

The fifth try was the first normal shot and now they were going to take a few more shots with small adjustments to his acting.

_They really pay attention to the smallest things; he is passionate about this project._

The last scene was for the trailer was his second victim, who was going to be drowned in the fountain in his own backyard.

"Keep the next time in your mind, how would you drown someone?", Parterico opposed this question to him.

_I don't know if I want to imagine over these kinds of actions, I don't want to be thinking like a monster._

"Three, two, one and action!"

The scene was divided between a part with a real actor and a dummy. Uthan and the other actor were first having a fake fight, so he punched him almost in the face, holding his fist back on the last centimetre. Even when he was a cop, Max proposed to make only the fights between him and Ruri real. It appeared that miss Hijiribe approved of the real deal.

After the fake punch in the belly and the following knee kick, the script stated that his opponent was too weak to take a few extra hits and the serial killer would take him to the fountain, ready to be drown.

"Cut! We will repeat this scene a couple of times. Try to hold less back, it is looking very reserved right now, just a little bit more rudeness." Parterico's instructions were clear to both actors and the scene was repeated two times more. After the extra recordings, Uthan will perform the drowning scene with the dummy, who was called Hendrick by the staff members.

It appeared to be a joke from Matt himself, the dummies were giving a lifeless vibe and by giving them a name, they would be somewhat more alive to Matt.

With Hendrick 'weakened' in Uthan's hand, he would perform the drowning scene. From the place where he stood, he dragged the body towards the fountain and put the head under the water.

"Cut!"

This time it was Max who interrupted the scene. He used the right commands, which he had learned from Matt, however, the following hand gestures were unclear to Uthan and the rest of the crew.

"Keep your right hand with you. What you just did, is clearly coming from your training at the Police Academy. It's too visible and it has not the right intention," he explained and mimicked the what Uthan have done.

The right hand was leaning on the edge of the fountain for stability, while his left hand was touching the full head of the dummy. Max pointed also to his feet, who were standing firm on the ground.

_I would never notice that by myself, it is just what I have learned at the academy, it was almost going autonomous._

"Okay, I will pay attention to it, thanks."

Uthan's words didn't sound convinced and he seemed to be unsure about it.

With Hendrick wet from the performance, they switched him with one of his identical twins, who was called Barry.

He knew that he wasn't completely in his role with the first shot, it was disturbing to him to think about topics like murder and drowning, like if it was normal.

_Well, it seemed that I don't have a choice here, I must act with a mindset of a monster to be one. Not that I am happy with it, but I don't want to disappoint them with my terrible acting._

This time he putted hit focus on the way how to drown a person, how a monster would do it.

_I got always a despise about movies with monsters in it, I don't want to relate myself to these abominations, these dangerous beings. And now, I am must think like one of them. In this film, I need to be one of them, I need to act as these monstrous creatures._

"Fabulous, hold this in combination with your impression of the character!", Matt shouted.

Astonished and afraid, Uthan looked to the director, who was suddenly enthusiastic about his performance.

"Can you explain why?", he asked politely.

The reply was Matt pointing to Uthan himself, which let him to examining himself.

His legs weren't standing firm on the ground, they stood in a more energic and relaxed position, which made it look like he enjoyed what he was doing. He left the right hand loose against his own body, there was almost no muscles at work in his whole right arm. The left hand was touching Barry's head, how it was supposed to. However, it shocked Uthan with how less he touched the skin the of the dummy. They were connected only by Uthan's finger tips, resembling the strength in his hand, resembling a brutal force, the power of the reckless murder, the brutality of a real monster.

"!"

There spawned a shock through his whole body and he bounced back a little, withdrawing his hand from his fictional victim. He realised, how real and natural the pose felt to him, how familiar it was to him.

_Wait, no way that this is true. Am I really turning into a monster?_

"Nicely done, that's perfect, you deserve a break and take your time for it," Max complimented him, but his praising didn't come over at Uthan, who was already running towards the bath room.

_What the fuck was I doing over there at the fountain?_

He was standing before one of the toilets, while he pukes his whole breakfast out. It was only the idea of becoming a monster that made him sick, his stomach and other inner organs were working perfect without any defect.

_ Why have I accepted this job, why didn't I for-see the whole judgement about me, about me as a monster?_

With his stomach completely empty, he took a glass of water at the sink in the bath room to wash the sour taste of his puke.

_Forget this, I am not going further with this film, I am going to leave. I don't want to be turning into a real monster, especially at this moment where I can rebuild myself, casting away the monster part of myself._

While Uthan was holding the conversation with himself inside his head, another self-proclaimed monster opened the door of the bath room.

"Isn't it magical?", a calm and monotone voice commented on the whole situation.

"Are you crazy? Why would it feel magical? It's-"

Uthan shouted with complete frustration, his thoughts broke free from his self-centred conversation with himself, only to be interrupted by the calming voice of Yuuhei Hanejima.

"To be a whole different person," Hanejima proceeded with his insight.

"Sorry for the interrupting, it was very rude of me. However, what I wanted to say, is that you can free yourself when you are acting, you could do things that you normally won't do in real life."

The natural calm voice of him, did his work on Uthan, who was calmed down a bit, at least at the outside.

"To be completely different, being someone else. Your personality and your past aren't holding you back anymore. In my roles as an actor, I can do things that I otherwise wouldn't be able to do. I can express emotions and feelings, it gives me freedom over my soul, escaping from myself," he tried to explained it with admiration, but he failed it, due to being himself at the moment.

"Do you want to say that- ", Uthan questioned and got immediately interrupted for the second time.

"That you aren't playing as yourself? Yeah, you're correct about that."

Uthan looked himself in the mirror and saw still the terrifying skull face that he natural wore. For the first time he had accidently captured himself with his own black eyes, staring into an infinite space of black matter.

_I didn't recognize this of myself, my eyes are really calming me down. It's just a serene emptiness, a beautiful void of nothing._

"Thanks for your thoughts about, I really appreciate it," he thanked and showed his first sign of gracefulness towards another person, who was not a family member.

Being constantly negative reviewed by others had blurred his own perspective to the wrong ideal of the world, the view of black-and-white, where his own family were the only ones who were white. He never got the chance to see the bright side of the world, it was his own pessimistic thoughts that coloured the world to one big lump of depressed blackness.

_Have I always seen only the negative side of things?_

Hanejima watched the whole realisation with his typical bland face, because he had still something to say.

"You can practise with Ruri-san in the improvised fighting dojo over at the other warehouse. It's my time to be free again."

He left the bath room and Uthan who took another glass of water was agreeing with him.

_My horrific face brought me in contact with Ruri Hijiribe, a well-known make-up artist. Without my face, I didn't have the possibility to meet her and now am I finding myself in a friendly fight against her._

_I am lucky this time._

_That night, near to the local police office..._

"Do you know a safe place for tonight?", Astrid asked the girl for a suggestion.

The teenager clearly did not and look depressed towards her.

_Just leave me alone, I don't want to give you more trouble._

She wanted to run away from the lady, by that same lady won't let Denise go and ensured that with the grip of her left hand, which was extremely firm.

She couldn't escape without drawing the attention to herself, she was stuck onto her for now.

_Why? I must solve my own problems._

The lights on the streets were giving a melancholic vibe, while the city became gloomier in his entirety.

Astrid's face beamed a different impression, then before. Denise had seen Astrid's seductive side and thought that it was her only trait, so she was surprised when Astrid awaked and had all her make-up removed from her skin. Denise recognized some of the vibe that Astrid was giving and categorized it in the same box as the face of her own mother, who got a different emotion to it.

_I can see it on her face, this is all my fault. She's desperate and nervous, all because of me. However, I want to give her rest, but she won't stand still._

Her thoughts switched to the place where Astrid brought her to a build with clear and direct white light, where everyone was working in the same formal uniform of blue and white.

_She's is giving me to the police?_

Her impression become frightened, these people were dealing with the dark side of the city and criminals, she knew that from tv, but what she had done herself?

_Nothing. _

It was the answer which she knew was true.

_I don't want a rescuer, that isn't what I deserve._

Her scared expression sucked all the attention to her, together with that mother figure next to hear. Due to being your whole life average, being suddenly in the spotlights was nerve racking to her.

"She needs protection, the Rotters are searching for her," Astrid explained as if it was necessary to hear.

The unexperienced receptionist didn't know how to respond and with the knowledge that he had, he fell back on the procedure of the police.

"Do you have any evidence to suggest that she is directly in danger? The Rotters aren't supposed to be kidnappers," he asked with a calm and serious voice. Every reasonable person know that you can't state something without backing it up with proof.

Astrid's hand went to her hand bag and the police man assumed that she was picking the evidence for the statement. Maybe she had photo's or recordings of calls between gang members. And in fact, she grabbed towards a piece of metal, where a telephone was made of.

Her hand appeared swiftly outside the back with a blinking object and reached in under a second the chin of the police man.

"If you don't want to protect this innocent girl, that's fine, then I will kill her by myself in front of your whole corps to let them see how miserable you are, _Graftak_!", she shouted full out and loudly.

The blade moved a bit towards the throat of the man in duty, who didn't predict such radical behaviour and as a result, his primal instinct took over with the flight-response by taking a step back.

With the notion of the receptionist's decision to withdraw himself, the lady switched from target as she quickly moved behind the teenager. With the fluency of a professional, she switched from the blunt side of the knife to the sharp and lethal side of the weapon and held it at the throat of the overwhelmed girl. The cop noticed the trick and realised that she wasn't threatening him for real as she he had hold the blunt of the blade against him, which resulted in the deadly edge for the girl in question.

"Calm down, calm down! What in god's name is going on here?"

He couldn't stop himself of expressing his fearful thought in public. His vision was locked in on the lady, but he failed to notice the emotion that she showed. The eyes of the lady were wet, humid from the desperate tears she formed.

_What is she doing, I've have just met her two days ago and she has already betrayed me. What have I done to her to upset her?_

Denise's pupils started to widen. In this harsh reality, she already knew the answer to her own question, an answer that only she could think of.

_Nothing, that's it._

She held her breath in, due to the situation at hand, but also due to the realization of the thing she feared the most. Her thoughts were falling in a deep, dark and depressed put.

_This is all my damn own fault._

The simple conclusion got twisted, squeezed and distorted by her own brain in an inch of a second.

_I am worthless here._

As a response, she didn't fight back at the murderous lady as it was the only thing she could ever do in her entire life: nothing.

But life itself wasn't finished with her, when she felt how she got freed from the sharp edge of the knife that her abductor held.

She witnessed how a few police man brought the radicalized lady to the ground, while she herself was escorted to private and closed off room in the office.

_What was her reason to don't let me go or kill me right at the time when she had the opportunity?_

Like everyone else at the police office, Denise couldn't get a grasp a glance of the crazy lady's eyes, who displayed from all the emotions that a human being possessed, a set that contradicted her whole action. Through the tears that she shed, her eyes were bright and filled with joy.

_Back to afternoon, at the improvised fighting dojo at the film set..._

"It's not discrimination, however, don't go full out on her. She is a lady and you treat them with gracefulness and respect."

_I will do the same, if he doesn't know it, I must hold back._

Sandshelt was instructing Uthan in how to respect and treat a woman, even in a fight. He stood at the side line of the judo mats, which covered the floor of the improvised dojo. The whole dojo was shielded of by wood and Japanese pieces of decoration were scattered over the walls. The place itself had a distant quality to it, it felt as a place over in Japan instead of the reality, who stated that it was in the rainy city of Rotterdam. Part of the reason for the foreign feel about the room, was the fact that the temperature was raised by the few heaters who were working to hold the warmth in the dojo.

Uthan was dressed in a judogi and only nodded to Max's long list of etiquettes of how to treat a lady. With only the formal judo outfit, people would realise how slender Uthan actually was. His posture would suit people more from over two meters, instead with his own length of one eighty-five.

His opponent for today's practise was Ruri Hijiribe, who wore the same uniform as himself. Her skin wasn't as other-worldly as Uthan's, but it was still considered foreign for Japan, it appeared almost Scandinavian to the majority of Japan.

She as the opponent, didn't know if he would survive her strength at full power, which falls under the category of super natural strength.

_They wanted action and because he's from the police academy, they thought that he could handle physical contact well enough to do it for real. He wasn't frightened by the idea of a real fight, so it should be alright._

She could imagine what Uthan was thinking of her. What could he expect from a Japanese actress like herself, did she have learned judo, karate or any other discipline of martial arts? Did she agreed with the proposal for a real physical fight or did she just say nothing about it and accept the idea?

Both sides started with the tradition of bowing before they started the fights.

_At least, he knows how it works, it wasn't a reaction or an imitation of mine movement._

"(...)"

The two opponents hesitated to take the first move, they have never seen each other fight and were acquaintance for just a couple of days.

After the silence, Ruri proceeded first by moving forwards, which indicated for Uthan that she had some basic training. It was her idea to take him to ground and she almost achieved her first goal in this slow-building fight, when she grabbed his hands to push him backwards. However, Uthan recovered his pose in the last second and was now holding her arms.

_So, he's aware of the basics too._

She evaded his left foot, who wanted to take her down by tackling her and as a response of how much she knew about martial arts, she took his right arm to throw him on the ground over her right shoulder.

In the short panicking time span after his feet were of the ground, his instinct took it over to land with both of his feet on the mats.

_He's much more flexible than he seems to be, that was an immense reflex that he pulled off._

She took her hands off from him to recover and moved her face towards him. What she encountered was a small, but clearly visible smile on his face and his next attack, which was the same grab attack of herself at the beginning of this match.

Hijiribe grabbed his arms with a firm grip and held his grab attack back with ease. When Uthan was holding her arms too, she could feel the muscles in his arm, who were almost relaxed.

_He's really holding back, because I can feel the muscles and they have much strength left. He's in a relaxed state, like myself. Could that mean that-_

Before she could finish her observation of Uthan, a voice interrupted the fight with a respectable amount of enthusiasm.

"I never thought that Miss Hijiribe would be that well trained. I will give you both the thumbs up."

It was Uthan's partner from the police office, Gerard Bronsma, who made the comment.

"You seemed to be equally skilled, that's how respect works. Give the best that you can, go to your limits, both of you!" he shouted with a smile. Sandshelt wanted to comment on it, bult unfortunate, Gerard got disturbed by the ring-tone of his mobile device and took the call.

"With Gerard, how is it going?" he spoke and walked away from the dojo to a quieter place, where he could proceed with his chat over the phone.

Ruri got reminded of her true identity and turned her head politely to Max for a gentle request.

"Is it okay if you stay outside the dojo and to let everyone-except for Kasuka-kun- know, that they can't enter the dojo? I want some a bit more privacy."

Her voice was still as calm as always, but it got a hint of seriousness in it.

"Of course, if it does let you concentrate better, then why not. I will look for Matt to tell him of your request."

_Does he still know of that photo, during that ritual?_

She didn't wonder for long and turned her focus towards Uthan, with a small moment of peace they bow to each other again, now in sync.

She was confident enough to assume he could withstand her normal attacks at normal strength. This time she would strengthen herself, bit by bit until she won, to see how far Uthan could go.

She moved first this time and immediately took a step back, when Uthan fell for her scam. She grabbed him at the belly to work him to the ground, but she felt the resistance from his side.

She let him loose to follow up with a sideway kick, only to notice how he blocked it with his arms in the typical boxer's defence pose, it didn't pull him back, not even a bit.

_He's adapting too, when I put more strength and power on him, he reacts by doing the same thing._

For an ordinary fight, the attacks were going to look a bit extreme, but for a film, this would be probably the right amount of action for a fight.

Uthan began to attack more reckless, while slowly revealing a childish smile on his face. It seems that he slowly forgot his training at the police academy. Ruri underestimated his right kick and got pushed a bit back, she could withstand if she gave a bit more. She blocked his upper-cut with the power to lift twenty kilograms as their power scaling began to pass the boundaries of mundane mortals.

_He hasn't still noticed it, it seems that-_

Her thought was cancelled for a second, due to Uthan's desire to end this fight by throwing her to the ground. He broke her defence and grabbed her arms to throw her to the side. With the few seconds after the throw, when Ruri was in the air, his joy of the fight was completely gone. He saw the raw power that he used and was overwhelmed by how far she flew, where after she landed skilfully on her feet, almost like a ninja.

She didn't know what would happen next and concentrated on Uthan, whose eyes were staring forwards with no focus, without purpose.

_It seems he has finally realized that his strength isn't human, he seems completely confused._

Hijiribe's assumptions were true, as Uthan was shocked and stunned by his discovery, wondering what he really was.


	8. Don't Rush through Dialogue!

Chapter 8: Don't Rush through Dialogue!

_At a bar, somewhere in the city..._

"Sorry that I have messed with you time scheme, but your friend must wait for a day," Yvan apologized with the usual business voice towards Edwin, who still did his duty as a bartender to don't be upset with small changes in his schedule.

Normally at the current time, the bar would be containing the usual and daily guests, but as the facts speak, the whole room was empty, except the two of them

"He didn't mind, so it wasn't necessary to pay me eight hundred euros, to reserve the bar for your own goal," Edwin replied, preparing a pair of glasses in advance for Yvan and his upcoming business partner.

Yvan had asked him how much he earned on a busy night and after his refusal to say anything related about money, Yvan demanded it, otherwise he would leave the bar for good.

"It depends on the mood and the day itself, but normally it would be around the five hundred fifty. That's without the cost of all the products.", he stated, without realizing what Yvan was going to do.

Dravok settled that as the start prize and added extra features on it: Edwin's calming attitude, the suffering that was called waiting and the suspicious bonus to keep the upcoming conversation private. However, Edwin could speak and contribute his own thoughts about the matter, as long as it was appropriate.

He was holding a case, the expensive leather where it was made of, was still wet from the asphalt the other day. He opened the case a bit, searching for a consumable item.

"Well, at least, you don't have to pay for this bottle of alcohol", he stated and found the object where he was searching for.

"As a present and as a preparation for my client, you will definitely refuse this gift."

An oriental flask was put on the bar, now full in sight for Edwin, who witnessed the label and quality of the alcohol with childish eyes, full of passion.

"Normal, you would be right, but I can't divert my eyes from this lovely flask of sake."

Edwin lifted the bottle with motherly care, as a freshly new born baby.

"Hot spring Sake, from Akita. I kind of expected this kind of rare quality from a dealer like you, but even my mind couldn't see this rare gem coming. That region in Japan seemed to be unreachable for me, even the exclusive bars would crave for this standard of quality, so this feels like a divine gift to me."

_He is already thinking about where to hold that rare sake, what passionate, we are not that different from each other._

"I see, your business partner must be the real deal, the top of the top, isn't it?" Edwin questioned Yvan about the guest with wonder. Due to his expectations, even Edwin didn't know if he was formal enough for this upcoming client.

As a matter of fact, he couldn't think about it anymore, because Yvan's business partner entered the bar.

"Oh my, a whole bar for us two, you treat me well mister Dravok", the business partner stated with a full overdose of jolliness and wondering. The guest wasn't an eccentric person in the slightest, because he surpassed that description with ease. His outfit contain of a heavy worn gas mask and a white lab coat, covering his whole body.

"Especially with this gorgeous location."

It was the interior of the bar where he spoke off, which was a melting pot between all kinds of European nationalities.

The beer taps were of course displaying different Dutch beers, covering the assortment from the east to the west side of the country. The lights above the bar were fashioned in Italian style, shining on the layered pieces of wood attached to the walls. It reminded Edwin of his Scandinavian roots, while still functioning as comfortable surroundings.

The tables where set in two long rows with additional tables against the wall, which was the typical formation of a German _Bierfest_. On the tables were lying the newspapers, offering some conversation material, while bottles of ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard were spread over all the tables.

"Of course, I treat you well, I don't want to scare my business partner," Yvan joked and invited him with a semi-serious tone.

"So, take a seat and let's starts talking."

He couldn't see the expression on the client's face, who was hiding behind the mask, but he knew that the 'eccentric' guest enjoyed his welcome. Who would not? The business partner was going to be treated like a VIP.

Yvan was aware of the VIP's likes and dislikes, however, the attitude that he got by living in this down-to-earth country, held him back in completely pampering his partner.

"I see, we even got our private bartender. I hope that you won't burst in anger, I don't want that to happen," the man joked, while his gas mask remains on.

Yvan busted out in laughter and turned an honest smile to the bartender.

"He's the owner of this bar and I can assure you, he won't talk with anyone else about our business deal and chat. Furthermore, to calm you, he's the most passive and calm person that I've ever seen."

"You're not exaggerating. Yesterday's night a group of five Rotters came in, I didn't give an inch."

He left the rest of Astrid's story in the dark, it wasn't his guests' business in the slightest.

"The Rotters, are these a gang or something? There was one over in Japan, who called themselves the Dollars," the VIP questioned it to himself a bit too loud.

"They are not a big issue, they are a group of burglars, a friend of mine got annoyed by them." Edwin was saying it with a smile on his face, though.

"They like to prank and mess with the police. However, do you like to have a drink, sir? I got a speciality form him to serve it to you."

He had already putted a glass before them and was prepared to take the sake out in less than a second.

"I am curious what he brought with him for me."

The masked individual wasn't finished or he observed his glass, where delicate liquid was on the bottom his glass.

"Oh my goodness, Hot spring Sake, that's rather interesting mister Dravok. I see that you've done your homework."

_He's impressed, it wasn't that difficult with a family name like Kishitani._

"That's fine to hear, however, I like to do first the formal business part of our conversation. You have already received the payment, so I like to see the object that I had ordered for a client of mine," Yvan spoke with a formal tone and pointed to the iron cubic case of his business partner.

"May I inform you that you are pointing to the wrong case. I have the pocket watch in a different case, just wait a second," the man replied and looked into his leather doctor's case that he brought with him too.

"What have you than in the iron case?" Edwin asked politely and got completely ignored, getting no answer on his question. He figured out that it wasn't appropriate subject for this time. He looked to Yvan, who gave the expression that he also didn't know what was in the case.

_Edwin got a good point, why did he bring that case with him if it wasn't the order? Is it that expensive to take it with you along the whole time, not losing it out of sight?_

"This is your pocket watch that you ordered from Indonesia," the masked man said and put the wooden case on the bar. The case was engraved with decorative scenes and was covered by tiny pieces of gold, conveying the impression that it came from a wealthy family.

"The former owner of the object inherited from an uncle and didn't want to keep the inheritance. He has sold it for a good fortune to you I heard, but why did you spend a half million for a defect pocket watch?" the 'doctor' informed and ended with a question for Yvan, who gave him a mischievous smile.

Edwin was curiously looking for the watch and got permission of Yvan, who started to talk optimistically.

"That's pretty sad for him, he couldn't figure it out that it wasn't meant as a pocket watch, I understand his observations, though."

He took the fake watch out of his case and saw how both of his companions looked interested in the object.

"I thought so, in my opinion it didn't work either. Do you mind to explain to us what it actually is?" the doctor replied filled with interest.

Yvan didn't answer, though. Instead, he held the mechanism in his palm where after it began to tick.

"It's an antique mechanical version of a cardiograph, a heartbeat counter. You can measure the pulse of your heart with this mechanical device. It isn't completely precise, but you will get a general estimated result, good enough to judge your own health with it."

While Yvan had explained the truth about the object, he nodded with his head to count his own heartbeat.

"Ninety-six, a stable one," he stated simply as a fact.

"It looks very eccentric, even extra-ordinary," Edwin commented with hints of wonder and fascination towards the object.

He knew Yvan's business, but he has never seen one of the products that his friend sold. It was reasonable to not bring your expensive antiques to a public bar, you can't be sure if it will be safe.

"Oh, of course, it is extra-ordinary, at least that is how it looks to you," the gas mask wearer reacted.

"Speaking of that, mister Kishitani," Yvan was speaking towards the very eccentric lab coat man.

"Is there a point or line between the extra-ordinary and the supernatural? As an expert at Nebula, you should have an answer for my question."

His voice was a mix of being interest, calmness and the serious matter of a business conversation.

_Of course, I have heard the rumours that Nebula is dealing in the supernatural. Combine that with the fact that these items are even rarer and you get my interest peaked as a rarity-seller. I want to know more about it._

"I would rather begin first with the question where extra-ordinary begins," Kishitani countered the question with Yvan's own strategy.

_The line between the ordinary and the extra-ordinary? I've never thought about that specific line._

While Yvan was thinking about the solution, the masked individual turned his attention to the bartender.

"I'll introduce myself first, because it will make things a little bit clearer where this conversation and also probably the discussion after the formal part is heading towards," he said and sprang with a little bounce out of his bar seat.

"I am Shingen Kishitani, one of the front researchers of the supernatural at Nebula. And with who am I speaking now?"

"With Edwin Göterson, the owner of this bar and how I like to call it, Yvan's closest acquaintance," he responded and returned to previous pose on the bar, that of a small child, listening to the wonderful stories of his or her parents.

This introduction lasted long enough for Yvan to come up with a satisfying solution in his eyes.

"It's a relative border, after a while you get used to it and it will appear mundane and ordinary to you. Am I right?"

It appeared that Yvan spoke from his own experiences. First, he sold guns, later other weapons and he was at the point of selling antique medical devices, eager to enter the next stage.

"That's a good solution, I couldn't explain it better. The same is for the line between the extra-ordinary and the supernatural, except on one front."

"It's against the laws of nature, they aren't bound by the laws of physics in this world," Yvan guess the explanation.

"Partly, it's correlated to laws where we don't know the existence of. Even for supernatural beings, there is a limit what they can do. So, you see, that indicates that there is a law in nature that hold them in check.", corrected the supernatural expert from Nebula.

"Wait, you mean that the supernatural exist? I thought that you were joking about it."

Edwin stuttered out of disbelief. Of course, he had heard legends, pieces of folklore and fairy tales, but these were just fantasies, made up by people with huge chunks of imagination. Or at least, that was what how he thought about them.

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have a job like mine," Shingen responded, his voice was completely serious about the matter, it was normal for him to talk about the topic of the supernatural.

"Imagine that I want to sell the supernatural, is there a way how I can spot it? I have seen one in my younger years, in my childhood and I have never encountered it again," Yvan spoke with business interest, though the foundation of his passion for the extra-ordinary shined through his words.

Shingen's answer was a more of a poetic sentence than a real answer.

"It isn't that simple, reality and fantasy aren't that much removed from each other."

_Back to afternoon, at the improvised fighting dojo at the film set..._

_That, that couldn't be true. It-it isn't poss-possible, it doesn't exist._

Uthan's eyes were still fixed on nothing, his vision was vague without the normal focus that he had. The focus to spot each insult towards him in a radius of twenty-five meters. The focus in his head was gone too. Own memories, new ideas, old nasty comments, it started to clutch together in his head, forming a realisation that couldn't be true, but in contrast, it fitted his reality clearly, as the last puzzle piece of the bigger picture.

_I have never fought at the police academy without the restrained version of me, so I couldn't notice it then._

The fight of today made him happy, it felt nostalgic to him, it reminded him of the struggle fights that he had with his dad. It didn't have the same moves than at home, but the sense of recklessness and freedom were coming back to him.

He stared forward, trying to focus on Hijiribe before him on her appearance and her aura.

_She must know what she is, she is the same as me, a monster._

It started to become clear to him, literally and figuratively. He could guess the feeling that he had when he first met her, that was of their monster side.

_It was even familiar to me and now I know why._

"I think it would be better to explain it somewhere else in private," a blanc monotone voice said.

Her head turned to it and ask to the person if the manager could hire a private room for dinner somewhere.

_He knows it too? I didn't sense the same thing with him nor the manager, so I can assume that these two are normal?_

His legs moved his body to the bench and let him settle there for a couple of minutes.

His mind was now working as an administrator, replacing old memories in the dark archive of his brain and putting his thoughts in the new context. He separated the facts about what was normal and what was abnormal.

"Honey-chan asked if we could have a conversation about something private, this isn't about leaving the film set, isn't it?" the manager spoke. He appeared confused and the straight face of the actor didn't make it clearer.

"It's about something confidential, not everyone has to know about it."

The actor face was suspicious looking around, try to spot other members, who were better off to not know of the upcoming topic.

"This isn't about something scary? I hope not, because I don't have a really strong stomach," Sandshelt was as dazzled as Uthan, who just stood up and found himself in control of his vision again.

"I don't think it would be that scary," he commented and saw how Ruri didn't see surprised by his reply.

_Yeah, I know there are some things that needs explanation; however, I understand the basic of my existence._

"(…)"

With now four people standing in the dojo, there was only one who didn't get it. Sandshelt was assuming that it was about info that Uthan didn't know, but appeared he also knew about it.

"I will try to order a private place, but I don't think it would be an expensive place. There are camera's in these kinds of restaurants, so I will look for local ones. I need some time, because the local places only advertise in such a strange language," Max voice was a strange mix between complaining and genuinely caring about his star actors and left the place to find a restaurant or bar with a privacy proficiency.

_What I will hear next, will probably determine my world view, which has already changed since my time here. I am almost graceful to these bastards for dumping me in this country._

_At a bar, somewhere in the city..._

"It isn't that simple, reality and fantasy aren't that much removed from each other."

_Wait, and Yvan knew of it? He knew that the supernatural exist?_

Normally he would stop his usual work for just a second to come with a polite response to the discussion.

However, there was no work for him now, so he could immediately figure out a reply, which he never found in this situation.

"Is that true? They really exist? That sounds ridiculous to me!"

His eyes exchange a small impression with Yvan and it looked that Yvan was deadly serious about it.

"Edwin, I never told you the reason why I love the extra-ordinary. So, I have decided to open up about it and I am going to tell you and mister Shingen here the story of my start into the extra-ordinary."

He took a small nip out of his glass, the sake already started to loosen his tongue.

"You know that I am not Dutch from origin. I was born and raised in Poland and got a caring, but also a strict father. It was normal for him to put me out of the house for a mistake that I made. He didn't care if it was ice cold as a tundra outside or hotter than the American Death Valley. That's the part why I am totally okay with Dutch weather, which isn't extreme like the weather in Poland."

Both of the listeners only nodded, both of them understood his explanation so far, but also knew that this wasn't everything.

"He would me even keep me outside for days and as a kid, I was bored and wondered through the vast forest close that surrounded our house."

Yvan's eyes started to shine from nostalgia, it was remarkable to see some be thankful of such an experience.

"One day, when I couldn't find food for a long time, I encountered on a medium distance from me a werewolf, who already had torn a corpse open. Some of the organs were consumed and I only wanted to know if there was anything useful left, like bones or maybe some clothes. I started to approach the beast and when it spotted me, it flew away, which was not what I expected."

Both of Edwin's guests took a nip of their glass.

"I can only state that my encounter with the werewolf, started my whole passion of the extra-ordinary and the supernatural. I have never encountered such a phenomenon again. But when you get a taste of the extra-ordinary, you will look for more and I started to deal in rare guns. My father was a hunter and so, I got already the taste of guns. Other fire arms and antique came later in my arsenal."

_I have never foreseen such a beautiful yet harsh backstory._

Edwin himself never found something supernatural, which didn't make him jealous.

"Well, in that case, you have experienced by yourself that it can work as a hard-core drug. Once you get a taste, most people will search for more of it, until it breaks them," Shingen commented on Yvan's backstory. He also has found a rather interesting person, however, not because for study, it was just personal preference and family reasons.

"I know, it's like a drug, but I found a remedy for it. I have found the rarest thing in the whole universe, so I don't crave longer for the ultimate extra-ordinary."

"Oh yeah, you have a daughter, is that right? You have talked about her sometimes, praising her like most fathers will do. However, most of the normal descriptions doesn't involved imagery of the old Soviet Union," Edwin responded with a honest smile on his face.

"You're right, she keeps me in check. I can't give something else more priority than her."

Shingen was ready to proceed with his conversation, when Edwin's phone was abruptly ringing.

"Excuse me, just a moment, it could be a friend of mine," he apologizes and took the call.

"Is there any room at your bar for a private conversation? I have search whole Rotterdam for a private room and because your bar difficult to find in the first place, I thought it must be a very secretive place."

It wasn't the voice that Edwin predicted. The pronunciation of Rotterdam was heavily influence by an American accent.

_This isn't him, now I am looking for a way to end this phone call._

"Sorry, but in my bar there's already a private conversation going on. I don't think that I can help you, my apology," he reacted friendly and thought the call was over.

"Oh, that doesn't matter, we can wait for an hour if you want. I will pay you nicely for the disturbance that I must have caused for your guests."

_Will he also pay another 700? Even when he doesn't pay that much, I will have some new interested customers to the bar and he doesn't sound like the shady type. He sounds like a very serious child at the moment._

"Do you have a moment?"

He covered the phone with his hand and asked to Yvan and Shingen how long the discussion will go on. He added that it could be an estimated amount of time.

"A half hour? I like to spend some time with my own daughter and Shingen still needs to recover from the time-zone illness."

Yvan's answer was appreciated by Edwin, who could add fifteen minutes to it for the preparation of his new guests.

"You can come over 45 minutes, is that okay?"

"Of course, my rescuer! We are graceful to you, they will be very pleased with you help. It seemed urgent to them."

"Just a small question, hopefully it doesn't bother you, but with how many will you come?"

_He talks about more than two people, I don't want a whole bunch of them. I need to prepare somethings first._

"With myself included, four. That must not be a problem for a single bartender?"

"Nope, it isn't."

"Well, we will look forward to our encounter. Bye!"

_He appeared to be really happy about the fact that he found a private place. For some reason, I imagine him as an odd American with a good amount of money. I don't know how why, but that's the image that I got from his voice._

He put his phone away, signalling that the telephone call was finished.

"Let's go further with this productive discussion. It seems that you as a bartender, has never met the supernatural before. Isn't it?"

Shingen turned his head to Edwin, who calmly confirmed his guess.

_I have found happiness in the ordinary, I guess, I have found it in the guests of my bar. However, that doesn't mean that I haven't met the extra-ordinary._

"That's true, but back to the distinction of it, I've met some extra-ordinary folk in this place, like Yvan here and the _Kroegtijger_."

"A what?" Kishitani appeared to have never heard such a foreign sounding word.

"You're talking about Astrid, aren't you? She is indeed quite remarkable," Yvan responded, he has seen her just twice, but she had already conquered her own place in this particular interesting bar. She was already a legend under the guests, a member that they don't want to lose.

"Yep, she is especially eccentric in her behaviour. Devouring huge amount of drinks, alcoholic or not and complaining about her life in the most poetic ways, sometimes even in a philosophical manner. In my business, she's the most valuable and precious guest you can get in your café or bar."

"I would definitely like to see her, she sounds as otherworldly as a Dullahan to me."

He didn't used that word on purpose, but it remembered him of a favour he wanted to ask to Yvan.

"Mister Dravok, may I ask you a little favour of yours? In return of all this intel about your background and sparkling my interest in a lady who isn't supernatural."

"Of course, I don't think it was that special to you, so I won't count these stories as debt towards you. However, I really like to help with your research if that is what your mean."

For Edwin, the next few minutes were going to blow his mind and would carve the existence of the supernatural into his head.

_This would really be the conclusion of the tonight's discussion._

_At the local police office..._

_All I wanted, was to be able to entertain men. Before the last few days, I would never think that I would take this route._

She sat in the cell at the police station; it was cold inside, but she didn't care about that. She also didn't care about the radio who was on in the department.

Of course, she knew why she was locked up in the cell. In fact, she was happy with the reason and the response of the police. She had threatened a young girl, claiming that she was going to kill that innocent child and got overwhelmed by the police. This was all on purpose and she was happy that it turned out the way she for-saw.

_I don't know how or why she got involved in this mess, but she's the one I need to get some peace in my mind. For now, they will keep an eye on her._

She could hear the conversation between the police man and the girl, asking questions to her around the circumstances surrounding her. At least, the girl was safe. That was all what mattered to her, she couldn't give any fuck about the world or herself anymore, only about the girl.

_For the first time, I am grateful that I got tricked by him._

When she was forced to the ground by the cops, the first thing that the police did, was securing the blade that she wielded. It was a reasonable response, but it will get unreasonable results for them.

_I let it go for that moment, not worrying about the return of it._

She sighed and closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, which brought peace to herself, while returning something else back to her.

One man.

One Human.

Combined with:

One woman.

Also Human.

And love

has twisted her.

"You didn't have to do that, as long as you wash the dished and do your part of the household, then I will do the cooking," she said, while staring at the table, who was already dressed by her husband.

"I would like to treat you on a traditional English dinner, so that's what I did. I made this for you, my darling," he explained and gave her a simple, but effective kiss on her cheek.

Both of them sat at the table, however, one of them was sitting down with a plan, the other sat down without any suspicion.

"Let's reverse it then, I will do the dishes and cleaning tonight. After that, just ask when you want to cook. By making it by yourself, you're questioning the cooking skills of your wife and I don't like that," she decided after dinner, which tasted fabulous and so, she did her job.

After the household, they looked if there was something on television. The only interesting thing was the news program, which reported the ongoing case of misery: Illnesses, wars and the local robberies.

"I wish we could do that," her husband commented and he received a kiss from her.

"Don't go further than what you are currently planning, you naughty boy."

With two people bored on the bench and with nothing interesting to see on the television, the screen turned black. After the normal small talk and reading the newspaper, they moved their romance to upstairs.

As a happy couple they sleep peacefully together in their shared bed. One of them was a prostitute, the other was a small operating criminal.

_That cursed knife, that cursed offer he gave me._

She looked at the blade in her hand, when she opened her eyes again. She could still hear the questioning, the girl was still safe.

"Has someone moved that knife that she had with her?" One of the cops, asked confused for a fitting solution to the problem that abruptly occurred.

"I haven't done anything with it. Jerry is questioning the teenager, but she doesn't say anything," this small explanation made the situation even more problematic for the all the participants.

_Why, why don't you speak? They are there to help you, to protect you, just like how I did._

"In that case, have you seen what has happened to that blade?"

The first agent tried to make a picture out of all these weird little things, it appeared that he was taking responsibility for the whole disappearance.

"No, I haven't and it couldn't be stolen."

"She doesn't have it either, I try to speak with her, but she doesn't respond to everything"

_That must be Jerry, he was talking with her._

"We've already checked every possibility. It can't just vanish, that's impossible."

The three cops were feeling that there was something off, something wrong with this whole event, so they got nervous.

"Oh shit, fucking crap! The teenager is gone too, she has escaped."

_What is she doing? She's going to hurt herself if she isn't careful. Hopefully, they didn't frighten her, she was already scared enough._

Astrid stood up and walked to the little window in the iron door to see what was going on.

"She will be in trouble, if she's alone on the streets, because the Rotters might be looking for her. That's what that witch was saying," one of them reported his thoughts desperately.

Between the two stressing voices appeared a third one, a calm one and full of disappointment.

"My first night reception in a long time and it's already a confusing mess. I will lock the front door, when we are all outside. That woman is locked in her cell, so she can't escape."

The instructions were clear as all three of them went outside for the car.

"We must find her, if she's hurt then I won't sleep well for a long time," the instructor murmured when he left the office. With a fast slam of the now-closed door and the sound of the key in the lock, the office resulted in a strange and ominous silence.

_I must find her, I can't lose this chance to change my life for the better._

It wasn't rage, it was desperation mixed with a feeling that she never had felt before, an urge that seemed to be rooted in her as a primal function of her being.

_I must protect her, to tell her what's going on before I can't see her anymore due to death or distrust; I can't let that happen._

She only could smash the door with her weak fists or her blade, which seemed to be a bit more effective.

_Don't make me sad, I have done that already to myself by just one irreversible mistake that I made. Don't let this happen again to me._

A heavier object seemed to hit the door, leaving a dent behind. She smashed the door again, one time, two times, three times before the door fell on the ground.

_Come on, they must have left one behind here somewhere._

With the hope for an simple escape, she searched for a key of the front office door. She couldn't do the same what she did with the cell door, it would attract to much attention to her.

In the small room where the girl has been questioned, was the only option for her to escape. A small window was half opened, almost against the ceiling.

_How has she escaped? That window is too high for her, she even didn't move the table for it._

The noise, caused by the table scratching over the floor, was her last concern. There was only one thing that got priority in her mind.

_I need to find that mysterious girl, otherwise, I don't know how to redeem myself._

_In a three stars hotel with hotel rooms for duo's…_

"Kishitani-sama, you are back, where were you the whole time?"

Normally, the sentence would be said with concern or worry, asking if the person wasn't hurt after the whole disappearance. However, this time is sounded as if it was said with a strange mix of excitement and distrust, if he maybe had cheated on his wife, who wasn't in the city at all.

"Oh, just chatting in a bar. I can guarantee that I handled the business deal well, we had a nice small talk," the man said, knowing really good what she was trying to say. The man never felt this sensation before, because he has never been observed by three persons at the same time. All three of his observers got the same idea and thought about his return:

"Where did you leave the head?"

Other guests in the café of the hotel would normally looked baffled by that absurd question, but most of them were already asleep at this hour and couldn't understand Japanese. The bartender of the hotel assumed that the conversation was private matter and didn't ask for any translations.

Two of the Japanese guests were famous at Raira Academy as a couple, the third was lurking with a cold blaze in the background the whole time, eager to strike and claim her prize.

For the young man, who was considered to be the least insane of the three, he knew exactly how far he could go.

_Don't cause trouble about this. Of course, he won't tell us where the head is now. He isn't that stupid._

The young man was correct about his assumption, when he saw the jolly attitude of the person he thought about. That person was amused to see their fanatic faces again and decided to make an inappropriate joke for the people who knew the context of it.

"Oh goodness, I think I lost that body part somewhere, what unlucky for you three."

"You could at least tell us that you could see if it was damaged, when you lost the object," a young cheerful and energetic voice spoke. Behind all the innocent, there was a serious question hidden.

"Miss Harima, I will guarantee you, the head is in a safe place, so it won't get damaged by anything or anybody."

_He wants us to search for it and normally we would be glad to be able to do that. However, with the nationality of Japan, we are very rare in this part of the Earth. We will attract a lot of attention to us, when we go outside._

"Can you tell more, please. I can cook for you," the girl requested friendly, maybe too friendly for a girl like her. Even inside the hotel, she wore a white cap with a pink accent and her almost never fading smile.

The smile and the proposal did the trick and Shingen, who sat with a bit of imbalance in his bar seat, spoiled a little bit of what he did with the object.

"That's a good deal, I would never try something that my wife has cooked, but you're almost a chef," he admitted and leaned with his ribs against the back seat.

"I have given it to somebody in custody. Someone who I can trust, someone who don't have an obsession with that head like the three of you.

_I won't deny it, he's right about that. However, I am doing it out of love, not out of my own desires._

Seiji Yagiri was looking as the wisest of the four, he seemed to have a good grasp on the world around him and was looking with a bland expression to the reality. He might have twisted his definition of love a bit, but it was in his opinion much closer than the love that his sister was nurturing.

For the woman who wore a lab coat, his older sister Namie, it was out love for her younger brother, a love that everyone would call incest. However, nobody would say that out loud, because they might got looked in the eyes by her sharp stare, the temperature was as cold as almost absolute zero.

Seiji could only understand the reason of the third participant of this ongoing contest, Mika Harima. They were a couple in agreement as the love came only from her side.

"Before you storm into the city, I would like to warn you about the person who is in custody of the object for now. I think that even love isn't strong enough to take him head on," Shingen added with a childish comment to all.

"I would appreciate it if you could take care of a certified object for me. I have heard you have a private warehouse," Shingen proposed his request to Yvan, when he putted the iron case on the bar.

The next minute, it convinced Edwin completely that the supernatural existed, as Shingen showed a perfectly severed head to them, preserved in a scientific liquid. It felt if they were now with four people in the room. The head was still warm and seemed to be breathing like humans would do, some will count this head as a separate being from the rest of her body.

"I think you already know what a Dullahan is, you have probably already read about it in books and articles. I can say that this a head of one of their kind, separated from the body."

"A what?" Edwin was unknown of the specie that the scientist was talking about and requested in an indirect manner for an explanation.

"A Dullahan is the announcer of death in Celtic folklore. They ride through Ireland and Scotland in a specific vehicle, a so-called coite-bodhar to visit people who will soon die. If you open your door for them, then they will throw a bucket of blood over you."

It was Yvan who was giving the clarification this time and he openly admitted that he have read about it.

"A personification of death itself, like _Magere Hein_?"

"Nope, skinny Hein is death itself, a Dullahan brings only the message of death."

"Okay, I only wanted to know if these two were the same, which they apparently aren't," Edwin apologized and asked for the reason for this request.

"Well, I got three companions with me who are all obsessed with the head for different reasons. We will stay here for a while, so I can't risk that I will lose the head. Nebula doesn't like it, when such a rare item is stolen by some abnormal people."

"I will take care of it, it's a rarity, so why not. As long as my daughter isn't involved with it, then I am fine about it."

Yvan could accept the deal with an enthusiastic voice, but he sounded only practical when he took the case.

"You were right about the storage, I have a private warehouse somewhere in Rotterdam. I store objects on where the prize isn't as high as it was supposed to be, waiting for their value to be raised some day. Of course, only myself know the location of it."

"That's great, I genuinely believe that her head would be in good hands. I will retrieve it, when we will go further with our journey to the west."

Shingen's comment made Yvan smile, while Edwin smiled because he saw that it was supposed to be a joke and so, he smiled to.

"Believe me, nobody will ever see it here. I will store it deep in my warehouse somewhere," Yvan and with that, their conversation was finished.

"Don't underestimate the power of love," Mika responded on Shingen's comment that even love will have a problem with the new guardian of the Dullahan's head.

"We will see which kind of love will defeat that person. I can't tell now who will win: Common-sense obsession, hyperactive stalker tendencies or straight up corrosive love. However…"

Shingen delayed his last sentence to build up some tension between his companions.

"…when you're searching for it, do me a little favour and report any supernatural being that you may encounter in this city. I like to do a dissection on it, it has been a long while since my last one."

With a little jump from his seat, he landed on the ground and say goodbye to the other three. When he was gone to sleep in his bed, the three rivals were looking to each other with eyes of energetic warmth, neutral blandness and sub-zero coldness.

"He's such disgusting," Namie said and took a gulp of her drink.

_She has an advantage over here. She doesn't have to go outside, she have probably contacts over here too. However, that makes her information a bit untrustworthy._

His older sister Namie Yagiri was the former head of one of their family's laboratories and Seiji knew that was intelligent enough to be a worthy opponent.

_Well, I hope that Mika won't be arrested by the police. She has quite a habit to break into houses with her love for me as an excuse. She has done that already multiple times over in Ikebukuro._

His girlfriend would be the stealthiest of them and was extremely good in getting information. He didn't doubt that she could be a successful info-broker, but that wasn't her goal in life, which was staying with him.

_What do I have? Well, I may be the strongest of the three and the most normal. Further, Shingen-sama appeared to be a bit tipsy when he returned, so that's a good point to get some info._

"I will also go to sleep, I still haven't recovered completely from our voyage," Mika said and went enthusiastic to their bed room.

_I doubt that, she will probably already start her search for the head. I can't blame her for that, but she knows that I will kill her if she finds the head before me._

Seiji decided to sleep as well and as expected, when he entered their bed room, Mika was already gone into the night.


	9. Keep Things Moving!

Chapter 9: Keep Things Moving

_On the street in a police car..._

"Here is location Kruidstraat, we are looking for a run-away child. She's appears to be sixteen years old and has long blond wavy hair and a grey hoodie."

The police van was riding through the main streets of the city, while the officer reported their activities and request for help through the microphone.

"It's told to us that the Rotters are looking for her, the reason why is unclear to us. She has already be threatened by what seems an assassin, who is locked up in her cell. Assistance for the search requested, over."

_What's going on here. I have never encountered such a paranormal thing in my whole career._

The receptionist of the police office was driving with a bit of haste, while the siren and light were off.

The third cop was looking for her out of the window from the back seat, while the older cop took the passenger seat.

"What do you mean, the assassin is free? Like I said, she is-"

He got interrupted with an unexpected report from the main office.

"How has she _godverdomme_ managed to escape from that cell?" The officer was the normally the most professional of the bunch at their office, so it was odd to hear him swearing over the ether.

"Gerard, what's going on? What do they have reported to you?" The cop on the back seat was a bit worried about the situation.

"She has broken the iron cell door and now she is on the run. What the hell is going on with these two?" He knew that the headquarter couldn't answer that question.

_I wish I could explain the breakout of her by myself, but I don't know it either. However, I am grateful that Uthan isn't involved in this hectic mess of a situation. Hopefully, he won't have to worry about these kinds of cases. I am almost certain that he never had done fieldwork before, so this would be too much for him if he was with me._

The three of them couldn't clarify the event and resumed to be silent towards each other, while Gerard came up with a new question in his head.

_What did Uthan, if he has never done fieldwork over in Washington and why has he chosen for doing police work? He didn't seem that strong to me._

The HQ told that him that they will inform all the cops on the street, but warned him that it wasn't the most urgent case on their list, so they didn't send an extra police vehicle out to search for her.

_This isn't normal, I don't know if I would call this supernatural, but this is at least abnormal. Hopefully we will find a reasonable explanation for this whole situation._

The driver of the van decided to turn on the siren and the lights and signalled to the rest of the traffic that will move at high speed through the streets to the highway.

_Before a bar, somewhere in the city..._

"This was the only place that could provide us private space at the moment, so that's the reason why we waited after dinner to talk about your upcoming matter," Max Sandshelt explained, when they arrived at the front of this particular bar.

"It's okay, we prioritized the privacy for a good reason, hopefully you would agree with us after the upcoming conversation," the monotone voice of Kasuka said.

"Can you already tell the reason why you two needed to talk in private?" Max was still filled with questions and curiosity about the topic.

"I also like to talk about it in private, it's about something confidential and personal for me."

Uthan was trying to calm Sandshelt curiosity and looked to the door of the bar.

_I have already figured out some things by myself, but I would like to get it confirmed by another one of my kind. I don't know if she sees herself as a monster, so I would like to know that too._

"Alright, we can talk about it in a few minutes. I will ask the bartender if he can go somewhere else when you three talk," Max gave up his questioning phase for now and knocked on the door to get a call back.

"Are you mister Sandshelt? My previous guests have left the place."

"Yep, we are standing outside, can we come in?"

"I am finished with my preparations, so come in!"

Max opened the door and saw how the bartender was adding the finishing touch to the prepared table for them.

"Welcome, I don't think you are here for a drink, so I will go to my living room upstairs, just yell when you need-"

"!"

On the last word of his welcoming speech, he got interrupted by a falling object from outside, behind the guests. A dull metal sound was the catalyst for a sequence of fast paced events, as the bar got filled with deep thick smoke followed by everyone covering their mouth.

_ Can't see anything here, what's happening here?_ The question popped immediate in his head as he couldn't see who was before him.

"!"

_I hear footsteps, though, they are too heavy to be one of ours._

His ears were busy with locating the source of the sound, while he was searching for his three colleagues.

A silhouette doomed up before him, signalling two grabbing hand towards the vaguely represented person next to him. He realised that he could do now the thing that he always has hoped to do.

"I want to help people, I know how it feels to be helpless and alone," Uthan said when he did his interview for the police. The police chef who did the interviews looked suspicious towards him, but didn't throw a harsh comment towards him.

"That's an odd reason for wanting to do police work, but it's a good motivation to do this work," the chef responded with approval.

Uthan knew that he didn't lie about it, but he was also aware that he didn't tell the whole truth of his motivation.

_I want to prove that I am not a monster. If I am able to help people in need, then I can prove that I am not a monster, that I am human like everyone else._

For him, catching bad guys and helping others weren't the core reason for his request to serve the police force. In fact, you could say that it was a selfish reason to prove his own point.

"You don't look like to be built for this job, your body doesn't look like a durable one."

"I know that, but at least give me a chance and I can prove it otherwise," Uthan spoke these words with confidence and as a matter of fact, he got the approval to enter the Police Academy, where he showed, that it wasn't a smart thing to only look to someone's appearance.

However, he didn't end how he thought it would. He managed to graduate at the Police Academy with relative ease, but he didn't get the position that he wanted, which wasn't even a high one.

_All these months of training, for nothing._

He was disgusted when they putted him on the administration department, only doing paperwork. Even with his voice, they didn't allow him to do call-centre work. As a cop in Washington, he didn't get the chance to show that he was a good person, that you can't call somebody a monster by his looks.

The disgust became much stronger, due to his colleagues from all different sections, bombarding him with accusations of him being a monster. It all resulted in the complete shutdown of his social activities.

_They don't let me do good deeds, I look like a monster, so they treat me like that. They don't let me providing the proof that I can help people, that I am human._

And with all that negativity in his mind, he got send away from his own home, which he saw as a new chance without these bastards, who assumed that he was a monster.

_I am not a monster; these rotted cops are monsters._

However, he found the truth about himself. A disgusting truth at first, one that he didn't want to hear. If he could change one thing in the dialogue, it would be the revelation that he is actually a monster the whole time.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for him. He got almost all the proof to state as a fact that he was a monster. It would be an unbearable truth if he didn't encounter these odd persons.

From the unnatural greeting from his new mentor over here and the honest response from a girl he met due to confusion, to the seductive lady in bus and the other-worldly meeting with a Japanese actress, who was the thing that he didn't want to become.

He faced the reality that he was indeed a monster, who was standing now in a sea of planned smoke, witnessing the silhouette before him trying to grab someone.

There was just one thing he wanted to do all these times and he now founded the chance to do it. He solely grabbed the figure by the left arm, while he stepped before the grabber to block the way for him.

He could see the man now much more in detail, revealing the black clothes and a simple, but yet effective, gas mask.

_I want to help, to protect, even as a-_

The smoke wore off and when they looked around, they notice that there was something wrong with the current situation.

With a small look towards the bartender, they saw that even he knew that there was something odd about it.

"I only see three of you, I thought there were four people before that smoke grenade," he said worried, while knowing nothing about the upcoming revelations.

_At least I did what I have always craved for, I've done something which could proof my point; however, I know that it isn't valid for my argument anymore._

HIs body was in a relaxing state, an artificial one. He wished that he could move, but his muscles didn't respond to the commandoes of the brain's motoric centre.

His unconscious HQ didn't get a lot of information to process, due to the fact that he was blindfolded when he woke up from the slumber. With no visual input, he could focus his mind on some of the circumstantial stuff and the current situation.

_Is this the reason for that crappy script that I received from mister Sandshelt? They wanted to kidnap her, I know why they wanted her, but how have they found it out?_

Instead of the target, they took him with them as the hostage. He still thought about the choice that he made that first day, which did and didn't turn out the way he would.

_In a back street ally…_

She looked behind her, nobody was following her anymore. She didn't even know if she was being watched, but that didn't matter to her as she was recharging herself from the long the run she had made. Her longs were calming down and heart started to pump her blood in her normal tempo again. Meanwhile, eyes were scanning the surroundings in a haste and her ears were searching for the sounds of sirens from the police cars.

She checked in her mind if there was anything that she could do to ease the situation, something that she could do to hide somewhere they couldn't find her, allowing the city to return to his formal state of activity.

_This will be better for everyone, for my parents and friends, the cops and that freakish lady with the knife._

It wasn't a choice that she made with confident nor a decision to make herself happy. In her eyes, it was a chosen path that was considered the best option for all the people involved in this mess.

_In the mess that I have created, so I need to solve it to, but how? I don't have the power of strength to fix this, even when I am supernatural._

She had convinced herself that this was the best way to end this event, her own hope couldn't rescue her from the next step that she was going to take.

_I must leave this country, I need to depart from the Netherlands to find a place where they can't find me. If my parents won't find me, then so be it. If they can't find me, then the kidnappers won't able to find me too. I need to go on a ship and set sail for a distant country to restart my life._

Worthless, that was how she described herself. Unable to fix her own problems, relying only on others to clean all the trouble that she caused. She haven't done anything useful and she would never be able to solving her own mistakes.

She couldn't take the responsibility of being the cause and catalyst of this situation. She could avoid this all, if she was more cautious to notice the people who passed by.

_It's all my damn own fault, the best way to resolve this would be me leaving this place._

She hope for a far and distant land: Mexico, Ivory Coast Kenia, New Zealand or Chili, just far enough for everyone to step out their worlds, out of their everyday life.

Her body had recovered herself, but her mind was immediately in panic when she sensed the rag before her mind. The smell of the remnant was oddly comfortable and relaxing, combined by the absurdly hygiene of a laboratory. Before she had the strength to shout out loud what was happening to her, the muscles of her body were in a state of artificial calmness.

_I have messed-_

Her eyes closed fast, while her mind allowed her to think about only one word:

_again…_

"Why does our client want this innocent girl anyway? This is already feeling suspicious to me, so if he managed to put us even more off, then I will doubt if we are going to follow his orders."

With the eyes still being closed, she was coming back from a deep slumber, while her ears were starting to collect all the data that they could find.

She felt her heart pumping in her usual tempo, while she was covered by a black sheet, warming her skin to the normal temperature.

_It's noisy, I can hear the engines working like a mad person. Am I on the highway or something?_

"!"

She was surprised by what she saw when her eyes opened her vision again. With a piece of clothes in her mind, muting her voice, she looked into the eyes of gentleman, probably in his 30s.

_This is strange, they are coming over as honest._

"Are you okay?" the voice said calmly, "Sorry, that we have been harsh to you, but at least, you are not hurt."

The man observed her body with a honest smile and worried eyes, where after he sat down next to her on the floor of the van.

The van wasn't that interesting looking from the outside, wearing the logo of local mechanics company and driving as civilized as the most people would do.

"You have been lucky, maybe there will be hope for you. At least you are not captured by these god damn evil folks."

She was frightened by the suddenly change in his voice.

"Don't talk to her in that way, there's a huge possibility that she even didn't hear of them, so don't talk to her with your anger."

Another calm voice commanded with politeness towards the gentleman and made Denise wondering who these people are.

The Rotters, that was the name of the gang, almost specialising in breaking into people's houses to take their electronics and non-sentimental jewellery. The wealthy treasure that they took, where sold for the market price to people who were looking for some new things to purchase. They pretend that they were selling it legally, earning less money than the underground dealers.

Their name wasn't only a reference to the name of the city itself: Rotterdam. Instead, their name was also resembling and symbolizing their status in society, the reputation that they had before this gang was initially formed.

"We are rotten, fallen to the deepest bottom of society. They have never noticed us nor helped us to recover from our mistakes. We are just here, waiting for the day that will never come, waiting to just rot, fighting against the urge to turn ourselves into full-time and merciless criminals."

That was their statement, their reason to disrespect and disobey the rules of society. They laughed about the behaviours of others, who are pretending to fit into this large community of people. The Rotters just did what they pleased and were doing it in their own ways. They found pleasure in their pranks and were teasing the police, which turned them into the rivalries of the cops.

"You have paid no respect to us, treating us like garbage, so we like to make your daily work as complicated as a time traveling machine with multiple time lines in different universes and dimensions."

"I am worried about our boss, we haven't seen him for more than a whole day."

Denise was following the conversation between the different gang members and was confused by their alignment.

"I will visit his home after this whole job. Hopefully, he would like the way that we have handled this, however, if he was in charge of this, then it would be much scarier for her."

The man in charge was pointing with his head towards Denise, who was amazed by the dazzling colour scheme of his hair. The yellow and purple hair person, continued with observing the surroundings and navigation them to their destination, the place where they were supposed to deliver the girl.

_What's going on with him? He looks so nice, but still…_

"!" the third man in the van was surprised when she saw a masked figure looking through the window at the back of the vehicle. He could see the neck and was overwhelmed by the fact that the person was on the roof of the van.

The driver looked due to the commotion into the rear view mirror and started to panicking. The whole room started to shake as a box of a young child, eager to hear what's inside the box.

"Keep yourself calm!" the yellow and purple haired punk shouted and embraced Denise fully to protect her from any possible damage.

_I don't understand this, why is he protecting me and what's that sensation that I felt when that figure appeared? I am causing all of this, putting other people into trouble and attracting all kinds of shady people towards me._

She noticed a few seconds later the tears that she has shed, she has been silently crying while she was thinking about the whole situation.

"It's fine, I have the feeling that we won't put you into even dirtier hands than us," the punk said calmly and comforted her with a short pat on her head.

She slowly got over the crying, while she was still protected by the man, who was also her kidnapper. Meanwhile, the driver got himself under control again and was now completely focus on the road before them. A road that may lead to a dismiss from their side.

_Before a bar, somewhere in the city..._

_Uthan-kun is gone, why would he leave? He is-_

Of course, that wasn't the reason what was going on here. Ruri had heard the stories of people getting manipulated into the wrong position, perhaps here was the same thing happening.

"For God's sake, I hope that this is all filmed by Matt, this isn't reality, real-life isn't not an action-packed movie like Rambo," Max reacted in a hysterical manner, which was way more dramatic than the classics works of Shakespeare. One of his main actors was gone, again.

_I want to know him, I want to know how he felt during his childhood, I can't let him go now._

She realized that he was the only other person from her kind and that was a thing too precious for her to just give up. It wasn't the fact that she had friends, however, Uthan was so far the only that could really understand her background as a monster.

"I am going to call the police, I can't let you hurt yourself, these kidnappers seems-"

Sandshelt's words were interrupted, not by other words, but by a specific action from one of his actors. With the cell-phone in his hand, he found the disability to call for help, because Kasuka was covering the phone with his right hand. With a dazzled why on his face, he stuttered with a gulp at the beginning of each of his attempts.

"I am sorry to tell you, but it would be better to keep the police out of this situation. There are some things going on that they can't explain, even after a deeply scientific investigation. It's better to handle this problem by ourselves," the single pitch voice of his was at the moment even more extra-ordinary to hear. Max tried to get some grip on the situation with the current information, but failed and as a result became even more astonished.

"Sorry to tell you this, but there's a thing that you didn't know about him. We wanted to explain to you when we having the private conversation, but it seems that that isn't going to happen."

Kasuka took a look around and saw that the bartender was standing from them metres away.

"Simply said, Uthan-kun isn't complete human."

It took Max some time to process the sentence, as it was told to him in Japanese. He attached the right words to the sentence and restructured it to a line of understandable English.

"Nani?", he got frightened by the unclear situation giving to him, resulting in him responding in Japanese.

He witnessed how Ruri Hijiribe and Kasuka Heiwajima exchanged a few faces from Ruri's side. He figured out that there was interaction and communication going on between them, which looked almost like telepathy.

_This was going to happen, it's just a few minutes advanced, that's it._

"I hoped that I never have do this again, however, if it is for him, then I am willing to disregard my humanity once more," these words sounded as a poetry in gibberish towards Max.

"You don't have to abandon it, just don't overdo it. Knocking them unconscious will be good enough."

_I hope that I won't go full-out on them, that will ruin the whole movie and experience for Sandshelt-kun._

She was certain that Uthan could hold himself restrained, otherwise, that sneak-preview as promotion material wouldn't be done.

_Or could I just release a little bit? I don't know how much they can handle._

"Wait, this isn't the time to play as your character. This is something serious, this is no time for role-playing."

Max was going for a strict voice of a teacher, but due to all the confusion in his mind, he failed extremely and sounded like an entitled and spoiled rich child.

Ruri and Kasuka forgave it him, where after Ruri replied with a comment that Sandshelt never saw coming, a comment that would scatter his mind into pieces, figuratively.

"Sandshelt," she started as her face obtained a serious, almost cold expression.

"?"

"Do you remember Hollywood? That serial killer a few years back in Ikebukuro?", she questioned him, the truth couldn't be denied any longer to him.

_I still don't trust him fully, but I trust him enough to know that he won't tell it to the others. He's well aware that we like our privacy,_

Her expression gave enough hints away to convey the point that she wanted to make, a point about her gruesome past.

Max succeeded in keeping himself calm, while is brain depicted himself kicking the door open of his mind's headquarters, where his consciousness commanded every staff member to process the information that he just got from Ruri. All his mental archives were opened in a chaotic fashion, while the members of the crew were passing notes to each other, where each note was written in a different handwriting.

"I, I see," these words were the only output that he could manage at the moment, the small but noticeable results of his brain's hard work.

Ruri was already pondering how she could find Uthan, she didn't have any clue where he could be at the moment.

_I don't know where to begin, so I am grateful that I can at least sense him. Where should I start?_

"I could suggest some costumes that will cover your identity. Matt always brings some of his old costumes with him around the globe. You can pick what you want from his collection," Max advised to Ruri. Of course, he doesn't want to lose an idol to a case where she is involved in.

_It surprises me that he has figured it out and that he don't try to stop me. He's even supporting this in a some way._

She gave him a small, but grateful smile to thank him and starting running to the film-set.

_This was the best that he got, I guess they won't recognize me in this outfit._

Ruri didn't exist anymore as she wore the purple cloak and a colour-matching Venetian carnivals mask. She didn't chose it for a good looking outfit, but rather for the most disguisable pieces in Matt's costume chest. It was good enough to hide her identity, because for an undetermined period of time, she was going to be not human. As long as it was needed to be, she would turn into a monster.

_At least, I can sense him, but where should I begin with searching? I am not familiar with this city at all, maybe I will wonder here around after work, together with Kasuka. But back to Uthan, where could he be?_

She just had walked up one of the nearby warehouses to get a better grasp of the neighbourhood. There was a multi lane road nearby, but for this hour, it could have been a single lane.

She never thought that she was using the aura sensing to locate someone, which was still difficult to do.

_They will probably transport him to somewhere, I may be lucky if I am doing this right._

With a small run-up she jumped with an enormous force in her legs towards the road and landed in style on a bypassing car. With agility she touched every car just for a few second as she was hopping from one car to the next one, trying to find a simple cop between all these citizens.

She got with her hopping-method quicker result than she thought and was first checking the van through the window in the back of the vehicle.

_Since why could my senses misled me and how would that be even possible? _She pondered as she saw only a few men and a blond girl sitting on the floor of the van.

It seemed that they have seen her, because the whole van began to swing on the road and while she remained her balance, she was already looking for a new car to switch to.

Another faint track of aura putted her mind on sharp, this wasn't an accident, this couldn't be. A second van was approaching the current one and was holding their position next to each other, while swearing words were communicated between the two driver and passengers.

With a gentle step, she switch from van and kept herself low, so that they couldn't notice her.


	10. At your Service

Chapter 10: At your Service…

_At a private warehouse, somewhere in the harbour..._

There was no central light in the enormous space, which was filled by lots of wooden crates and iron boxes at the sideways as the main path was completely free from objects. A simple flashlight was shining through the darkness that this warehouse held.

It was a mystical picture, a bodybuilder figure holding in his left hand a light, while carrying a secured metal box under his right arm.

_This feels a bit off, I do know that this her normal separated state from her body, but it's still ambiguous. I thought I had enough experience to just take it without any concerns about it and look me now, experiencing a sense of discomfort due to her._

The shelves were filled with boxes, small ones, long ones and heavy ones, made from steel, plastic or simply wood. He didn't came here often lately, with his rich and high-placed customers, the demand for more specific objects became more prominent.

_Some people seemed to be reasonable enough to kill a person for this head, what a good excuse._ This thought was as genuine as you would say if nothing was wrong with it.

He knew that the world was filled with mad and insane people, humans that were annoying, arrogant and selfish. He wasn't sure if a monster was the same, maybe it is more reasonable individual, because it wouldn't give in to his emotions, if they have them at least.

However, when he looked to this head, this beautiful and graceful entity, peacefully sleeping, while the world was going round as usual.

_Maybe, the supernatural isn't that threatening. That werewolf couldn't do anything else at that moment, he can't talk to a normal person and having a simple conversation with that human._

He smiled with a warm face, while he was thinking about his own treasure, his daughter Stefana. Sometimes, he wondered if there were any supernatural creatures that could measure with Stefana's activity in the summer.

He walked between a stack of wooden crates, containing artefacts from different continents and era's. If he remembered it correctly, he had somewhere a narrow place, just wide enough for the cube made of metal.

_If they have tracked the head down to a single location, then I would like to make it as difficult for them to pin it down to place in the warehouse._

He placed the lovely and precious relic in the small space and took a step back. He felt the enthusiasm for a fight boiling in his veins.

He hoped and wished for a better fight than with that rich spoiled man, who was lying in the hospital, due to underestimating Yvan's capabilities.

_As long as she isn't involved in this, I am happy, I don't want to lose my pillar due to my own interests. This is for myself, with her safety in consideration._

He walked back with the thoughts of returning to this place a bit more often. Now, he had a good and beautiful reason to come back to this warehouse of him.

_But first, I want a drink to ease the mind. I hope that Edwin is finished with his other private conversation._

_In an abandoned warehouse, somewhere else in the harbour..._

"You idiots, how are you entitled to call yourself professionals?!" a man dress in a classy suit was ranting to the henchmen and their leader. The man stood in the dark, covering his face for anonymity to the two groups, who were standing before him in small angle, ten metres away from him.

"Yes, they do call themselves professionals. It seems that they have misunderstood your order, because they brought the wrong person to you," the representative of the other group commented with a smirky smile on his face. The leader of the group was nowhere to be found, so the purple and yellow haired punk took his place as the leader and counted himself responsible if something was wrong with their own order.

The other leader, dressed in all black suit made for janitors was piercing with his eyes to this ill-mattered rebel.

"I asked for a woman, you can't just mistake that kind of detail, a major detail for god's sake."

_They were really targeting me, what kind of instructions did he gave them then?_

Ruri was surprised when she found out that both vans were heading for the same location. It appeared that she wasn't the only target for abduction.

She had jumped off the vehicle to find some coverage in the construction of steel that held this place intact. She was witnessing how the man was complaining in harsh comments to the gang and saw how they had bound Uthan with high-quality rope. It must be terrifying to experience this whole chat from a smaller distance. Uthan could see everything that was going on with the three negotiators for this deal.

"Don't say that you have the reputation of being professionals in human smuggling and kidnapping and then arriving with the fucking wrong person," he spitted his anger out like fire balls from a dragon, filled with fury and dangerously hot.

"Don't be dumb, we have followed precisely your instruction to identify the right person. If our strongest member felt resistance from the person, then he had the right one before him. If we have caught the wrong person, due to your description of the target, then you're responsible for this mistake."

The leader interrupted the stream of hatred towards his group and was constantly looking towards the punk, who went by the name of Remco Sevenear.

"Ever considered that your strongest person may be weak in reality? Don't blame everything on me, you made an inaccurate estimation."

The counter argument of the client wasn't a valid one and was full of logical holes. Nobody, except the strongest person, wasn't offended by this big hollow bluff from the customer's side.

While the henchmen were trying to calm him down, Ruri realized that the man must have known the secrets that were surrounding here. Only a monster like her could withhold the strength of the bodybuilder type.

"That's sad for Angle's Rescue, all that planning and waiting done for nothing," the third person began to laugh a bit as he clearly enjoyed mocking the other party.

"Having captured the wrong person? Mistaken a man for a woman, what could you expect from a 'professional' gang like them. A small amateur gang like us won't make these mistakes, that's refreshing and hilarious to hear for you."

The last comment wasn't clearly targeted at a person and resulted in a backlash from the kidnappers.

"We didn't have equal jobs, you know that. We didn't have to kidnap that small frightened girl of yours."

"Shut up! Both of you! Just hand me over the girl and you'll receive your payment, the other group will receive no money as a punishment," the rich man shouted, while trying to calm himself down, because his face was as red as a tomato due to his rage.

He stepped out of the shadow, which made his recognizable for both parties. One of the leader's faces was turning into ultra-serious mode, while the other started to become mischievous.

"I see that you didn't have done your homework," the rebel remarked. He was searching in his pocket for a mechanics tool, while he was looking full of joy towards this entitled rich person.

"What are you claiming? Of course, I have done my homework, I can't describe your target without any research."

He didn't know that he pointed out the wrong point, which made the next line a surprise attack.

"Then you know that there's a chance that we will refuse your order to deliver the girl. We as burglars have standards too and so, we have decided to not give her to such a corrupted politician like you," Remco lectured the client in his own domain. The girl, who was restrained by rope, like Uthan, was dazzled by the fact that she now got protected by these rotten people. She was surrounded by five man, armed with mechanic tools to defend her.

_Wait, a politician? There's only one person that could know my abnormality: Berker-sama._

With the feeling of being watched, she experience the tense atmosphere in the warehouse.

Uthan wished that he could do something about it, however, his arms and legs were tightly wrapped up, so he couldn't use the raw power of his supernatural strength, which wasn't as strong in the upper parts of his limbs.

Both groups stood at the opposite side of the abandoned warehouse, with the client as the border between the two boiling enemies. Everyone know that they wanted to eat the other's flesh, without thinking about morality or compassion.

The rich man snarled arrogantly and waved to them if they were disposable, which they were in his eyes.

"In that case, I won't stop your guys from attacking these scumbags, these rebels. I will allow you to kill them if you are confident enough for that."

Everyone expected a brawl between the two sections as both sides were getting ready for a long-during fight. In contrast, an object zipped before their eyes. It was a sharp object that missed the rich client for an inch. All of their eyes, were directed to the weapon, it was a throwing knife.

"He won't stop you, but I will!" a voice echoed through the vast space. With a simple construction, the location of the voice was determined and showed the face of a resolute woman.

"I will warn you, that knife missed on purpose, the next one will hit your forehead if you are careless with your actions.

_Just one year back, in the bedroom of Astrid and William…_

Astrid's first shock happened when she woke up from a good night with her husband William as she found herself carrying a kitchen knife in her hand.

Her husband was the second shock. He wasn't dead though, in fact, he was smiling with a disgustingly large smile on his face towards her. She saw that he didn't had any regret of his action, what that might be.

_I can't undo it, in some aspects, I won't do it or can't forgive him for this cursed state of mine, but I can pay him back as a thanks now._

"What have you done with me!" she yelled at him after she threw the knife into the trash can in the corner.

"Don't curse or swear at me," he said with an utterly calm voice. "Curse the knife."

Astrid saw how he pointed towards her hand and the third shock came when she noticed that the knife was back in her hand.

_What have you done with me? What kind of a miserable trick is this?_

Regret, sorrow and remorse, these were the feelings and emotions where the knife was known for by a few people, who all are gone in this world. These feelings were now embodied by her, these values were imbued by the knife, who was known as the Butler's Knife.

A small amount of people had ever heard of this blade, some might call it a legend, others will recall the weapon as tragic tale of an individual, who has cursed it in the first place.

It was demonstration of short-period thinking by a person, who took revenge on his master for executing his whole family. The landlord was killed by the man, who he always trusted, his butler.

After the death of his master, the butler didn't felt salvation or any satisfying conclusion for his revenge and blamed everything onto the kitchen knife, who was covered by the landlord's blood. He didn't feel freed from his anger, he knew that he had taken revenge, but regret started to show up. Remorse and sorrow were brewing under his skin and were never released into the world. As a result, the knife got cursed by concealing these emotions inside itself.

"You can never abandon a life changing choice."

It was a saying that was rumouring alongside with the knife, who got feared for the person who possessed it. The newly found owner will get stuck to this cursed knife for the rest of his or her life. This time it was a lady who was attached with her soul to it, a woman by the name of Astrid Frandward-Meijster.

And every time when she closed her eyes, remembering the presence of the blade, the knife will return to her hand or secondary to her hand bag that she always carried with her.

"Is that her?" one of the Rotters stuttered and stumbled where after he was trying to find some balance by his fellow burglar.

Remco felt how the Rotter leant on his shoulder and looked with astonishment towards the prostitute that he had spoken to multiple times. It wasn't surprising that she turned to be such a dangerous woman, he was more thrown off guard by her appearance, which he saw for the first time without make-up. She looked different, more natural in his opinion. He was still careful, while he was aware that his boss William has done something with her, he didn't have any idea what she could do, what kind of deadly moves she knew.

_Yes, it's me, a monster completely fabricated by the love of my husband, who has left this world._

"I just want that you are able to protect yourself. You know that I have enemies and I don't want to cause trouble for you, because of that." William Frandward said and immediately received a slap in his face. While she was clearly upset about her, his words were remaining calm and genuine.

"I would like if your strikes are a bit more lethal. So, I want to propose something, let me teach it to you."

When he mentioned more lethal, she didn't expected that it would be absolutely lethal.

The already twisted couple of low level criminal and prostitute turned to be even more twisted. Slowly, she evolved from only a lady who liked to entertain men, to a woman who was able to kill these men.

A criminal leader and a seductive assassin resulted in a perfectly deadly couple.

When she realized that she was manipulated into this position, her mood began to drop drastically. Her emotions were dragged into the wide and vast ocean, to the darkest bottom of the sea.

_Sorry William, I have to rescue myself._

Since two days, she has made herself a widow, by killing her own manipulated husband, who she still loved.

"Don't be the heroine, you're vastly outnumbered," Berker bragged towards her.

She knew that she was surrounded by professional kidnappers and under normal circumstances, she couldn't defend herself.

From the normal peeling pose of the knife, she switch to another position of the blade, which was now pointed to the ground, ready to plunge its steel into people's hearts.

For once in a long while, her heart and mind were having peace together. Her body was ready to fight and her focus was locked on these criminals.

_You were right, the whole damn time. I am thankful for your disgusted and twisted gift. Your lessons are now sometimes worth the suffering and I will test these skill on these thugs, so that you could be proud of me._

The first thing that she planned to do, was to tackle the members Angle's Rescue and free the person who was wrapped up by the human traders. After that, she figured out that she maybe could speak with Remco as long as they didn't found out what has happened to their leader.

The members of Angle's Rescue couldn't wait any longer and started to attack her, or that's what they had planned. In a short time, they saw how she evaded the first attacker and kicked him on the back to let him fall on the knees, while the second one's cheeks were scratched by the knife immediately after that. The skin that was cut, wouldn't be normally in the reach of a simple knife, but the machete that she held in her hand was long enough to touch the attacker.

The Rotters didn't have any losses and Remco, who stood at the front line with his arms spread, was making sure that nobody of them would attack her. In the end, he realized that this wasn't necessary as he noticed that his members were already frightened by the amount of skill that she has displayed.

The group started to scatter a bit and Remco witnessed the reason why. The same figure who looked through the rear door of the van, was standing at that moment on that same van.

For a few seconds, the fight was stopped by the sound a working motor and a siren, a recognizable one for sure.

"Let's go, if the police sees us, then it will be over for us!" both of the leaders commanded and they left Astrid behind in their fight.

The police arrived with assistance on the place and witnessed how almost all the criminals were fleeing, with the exception of the few Rotters who were given the task to protect Denise, gave themselves over. The client of these two groups seemed to have avoided the eyes of the cops, because he sneaked away.

For Astrid, she ran towards Uthan, who she immediately recognized due to his light sucking eyes.

"Uthan, is that you?" a male voice behind Astrid was speaking before she could say a word. The voice sounded surprised and dazzled by his presence.

Instead of answering his police partner, Uthan stared only towards the empty Rotters van. The mysterious figure has disappeared.

The cop looked to the widow with a sad and serious face.

"It's better if you came with us to the office, we have some questions for you," the man stated.

"Wait," Uthan interrupted the convo, "she was here to rescue that blond girl." He knew that it was rude to point towards someone, but this would make the situation much more clear.

"In that case, go to your house and rest, we'll except you tomorrow," the cop decided and directed his eyes towards Uthan.

"However, I need to talk with this rookie about the situation."


	11. Epilogue: Fantasy as Common Sense

Epilogue: Fantasy as Common Sense

_At the apartment complex of Uthan..._

Stefana was upstairs, when Emily found herself again in her form of boredom.

_Why is there nothing exciting happening in the city? Why haven't the aliens invaded the earth yet? Why has a meteorite who is passing our wonderful, but tiny Earth, not awaken our superpowers or why is the world still in his pre-apocalyptic state?_

The television was even more boring than the last time and the radio was as average as always.

_Can something spark my interest please, I don't know what to do now. Otherwise I will lose the concentration that I need to stay awake._

Her mouth started to widen, to prepare for an enormous yawn, when the entrance of the building opened. Her hunger for distracting drove her to the door of Yvan's apartment and with an umbrella in her hand, she was ready to peer with the door opened slightly.

_Wait, that's him!_

She witnessed how the charming skull-face was dragged to his apartment by what seemed to be an older colleague of him. Through the front windows, she spotted the red and blue striped cars from the police, could he be incognito?

"It's fine, I can walk," the queen jelly voice of the gentleman was trying to convince his older friend that he was mobile.

"I don't think so, you were kidnapped and bound with ropes. I will bring you to your bed, then we can talk more about the whole calamity where you were in."

She hear the voice of a relying mentor, a person who has experience in many battles and was aware of all the secrets and dangers in this magical world. How odd this may sound, this was the fantasy that was formed in her mind, in less than a minute of time.

"I am fine, if I may be honest, I am grateful for this event." Uthan tried to protest, without success.

"(…)"

The older man in police uniform was silent for a while, he couldn't process the smile that was on Uthan's face.

"You don't have to lie about it, just say that it was a horrible accident that they have dragged you into this. We Dutch don't like if you are sweetening up the truth, so just say what you feel."

"I have no regret in take the place of that Japanese actress, I have done the thing that I always wanted to do, so you won't hear me complaining about the state of my body."

Emily's eyes were sparkling with enthusiasm, while her own body gave her own body an overdose of hormones.

"You must have taken a lot of hits, so I won't be optimistic about your body condition," Gerard observed. Normally, his thoughts and deductions were spot on, but his rationality only worked in the realm of the mundane, not in the supernatural aspect of life.

"They seemed to leave me alone, when I was under narcosis. However, it's Ruri who was the real target of the kidnapping. I figured that out later at the warehouse."

"That won't make any difference now, you are hurt, your legs and arms must hurt with that body of yours," the veteran of the police said to the rookie, who has now experience in the field. Gerard's voice was honest and caused a small silence from Uthan's side.

"So, what's the point?"

Uthan's optimistic comment made Gerard sighing, while he opened the door of his pupil's home.

"Don't be careless, like you did when they tried to kidnap her. These gangsters are the real deal, they are too scary for you to encounter them head on."

"These man around the girl?" Uthan wanted to be sure about which group Gerard was talking about. He himself had also doubt about one of the two groups, but the other didn't seem that strong or dangerous to him.

"The Rotters, nah. They are like insects, they like to annoy people by tickling them and provoke reactions. They aren't that deep into the underground, a small street gang, nothing to worry about. Angel's Rescue at the other hand…"

The man faced a dilemma and observed the interested eyes of his newbie. It was better to not tell him about them, that was his decision for now.

"…don't pay attention to them. They are the complete filth of this city and his harbour."

The door of the gentleman closed, leaving Emily with enough time to collect all the puzzle pieces and figuring out the whole picture.

_His colleague is a police agent, I definitely saw that uniform correctly. So, he's an undercover cop who has protected an Japanese actress and idol. What a brave and charming gentleman is he. Eeeheeh!_

After she closed the door, the daughter of her best paying client started to cry out of horror. It reminded her of her duty and started to shift her attention towards the child.

_Probably a nightmare, I'll tell her another bed time story about a charming prince. These stories tends to work on her, I myself never enjoyed the fairy tales. My father is still feeling embarrassed for lulling me into sleep with his favourite nonsensical action movie._

She shook her head and refilled her mind with a new set of fantasies, varying from sci-fi and cyberpunk, to grand epic fantasies and foreign tales of coolness.

With the current problem of creating a bed time story, she turned to her own experiences, the things she has seen and the things she has heard.

_No, it would be a ninja who rescues a helpless shrine maid. That's sound great and the best thing about that bed time story is that it's based on real life and will introduce Stefana to a new culture. I could try to co-operate koi's and yokai's in this epic adventure, she would probably love this kind of fiction. _

_At a bar, somewhere in the city..._

"You are looking happy, what's happened to our complaining _kroegtijger_?" Edwin's tone was uplifting and got the intention of a joke.

Yvan and he didn't expected that she would appear tonight at the bar, but reality proved otherwise. The day was almost ended officially, only an hour left and a new day would began. Only two regular guests got the permission to spend some cash on a lovely drink.

"Do you want me to have misery all the time or what? I am not a masochist or anything, I don't like being moody for all of my life," her comment with the sharp tongue signalled that everything was fine with her.

However, while she wasn't mentally in the mood, her eyes were physically exhausted due to this day, which was a long a hectic one.

To gain some energy, she grabbed an apple out of her hand bag together with the knife in her right hand.

"Like I said, life isn't always easy, but even I admit that there are things that will make your life better."

"I guess alcohol is one of them, especially for your kind of people. I am happy with a few extra euros, so don't hesitate to donate to this poor foreign bartender," Edwin joked and proceeded with dry the glasses, while she was busy with peeling her fully red apple.

Yvan kept himself quiet, he wanted to distract his mind with a small drink, but he couldn't get his guard down when she was hanging at the bar too. The whole discussion about the supernatural and the extra-ordinary had set his brain stuck on the topic of encountering it and now, his intuition told him that he sensed something odd from her, something familiar, but also different.

"It's not that simple, life and happiness are complex topics and many _kroegtijgers _before me have failed to face the mightiness of this world. However…"

She grabbed her purse and tossed a few coins on the bar.

"…at least, you can give me an excellent glass of gin."

_Ah, what a delight, she hasn't changed that much, she is still the same old veteran of the bar. Even when she has been here for only three weeks now._

A glass was being filled with liquid gold for a woman like her, while the front door of the bar was slowly opened.

The cold wind of tonight was flowing into the bar. Yvan didn't paid attention to it at all, because his body wasn't trembling from the fresh air. Astrid felt the disturbance of the warm bar and turned her head immediately to the door, which warmed her automatically when she saw a girl in the entrance.

"Ah, it's you, the person who you're looking for has already seen you," Edwin greeted the teenager.

The girl slowly detached herself from the two people behind her, supposedly her parents, and walked towards the two veterans at the bar.

"You don't have to be scared of me, I won't kill or abuse you," Yvan said with a friendly smile, when he saw that the girl stopped a few meters from them.

_I know that he looks a bit intimidating, but that doesn't mean that he lives up to his appearance. Is she really distrustful of him or what's has happened with them before the whole debacle with Astrid?_

The blond haired was hesitant and seemed to not able to step forward anymore due to fear. The situation became silent, with Yvan the taking the initiative.

"That's fine, I will leave the bar for a time. Edwin, can I go upstairs to provide these ladies some privacy?" he requested and walked without any suspicion to Edwin's living space.

"Can I ask why you are here?" Astrid's caring words seemed to ease the conversation for the girl, causing her to speak what she wanted to say.

"I, I want to thank you both," she said stuttering, "I would also like to help, or at least compensate for the trouble that I have caused to you two."

_I am not aware what that trouble might have been, but I don't think she caused any trouble for me. Astrid is responsible for that interesting conversation with the ripened rebel that I had, however, I wouldn't consider that as a problem. I would have given the permission any way to such a treasure of a human._

His wondering thoughts, caused a surprise when Astrid's hand pose was demanding a specific object from him.

"Can I get a pen and some paper please?" she asked and her postured suggested that she was expecting that Edwin had a these things somewhere and that he would give them to her.

"Sure," he responded with the tone of a loyal butler.

_Well, I am not protesting, she seems to have a better grasp of me than myself sometimes._

He handed over a small simple notebook plus a pen to her, where after she waved to the girl, who still kept some distance from the duo.

She tore a piece of paper and started to notate a ten digit long number on it and gave it the girl.

"I want to talk with you a bit, but not now. I need to explain and apologize for my side of that chaos. I am guilty too, so I want to tell it to you from my perspective," she whispered in the Denise's ear.

"Which means, just call me if you have time to talk about that whole calamity."

Denise thanked them for the second time and return after that to her parents at the door. For a short moment, Astrid's eyes met theirs and saw two grateful smiles towards, where after they left the place with their daughter.

"Yvan, she's gone!" Edwin shouted upwards and got the response of heavy foots on wooden steps.

He had diverted his eyes and missed the small scene where Astrid paid her drinks in cash and left the bar.

_People are ordinary, strange, extra-ordinary or even supernatural. However, from my point of view, they can get along with each other in peace and harmony._

"I see, both of them are gone," Yvan remarked and saw the surprise on Edwin's face. With a little sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment to make his own decision.

"Well, in that case, I will go too. I predict that you want some sleep after two private conversations."

A money bill appeared on the table as the result of his choice and he waved to Edwin.

"If I am honest, I can understand why you are treasuring her that much. She's quite a beautiful lady."

The door was closed, leaving Edwin completely alone in his bar. While he was washing the two glasses that were left behind, he wasn't able to retrieve the wide smile on his face.

_She is indeed, a lovely and by definition a remarkable person._

_In a three stars hotel with hotel rooms for duo's…_

"Seiji, have you heard of yesterday's night?"

It's not that difficult to figure out whose voice it was. With only three distinct fellow travellers, Seiji can chose between a toxic and cold voice with a sharp tongue, the jolly laughter of a middle age man or the almost bombastic voice of a hyper energetic stalker.

"I only heard some sirens, there were no gunshots," Seiji contributed to question with his own observations.

However, Mika has done her first day of research her in the city and because she didn't had any glue to start with, she has collected every rumour and news report that might be interesting for her.

"There was two kidnappings and these hostages were freed in the same night, but people say that it wasn't the police who did it!" Mika played without knowing it as the lady from the news. However, her fast paced voice wasn't the best for telling these rumours and news messages in an easy way.

"Who did it then?" Seiji's calm demeanour was as water towards Mika's fire.

"For as far the rumours goes, they are speculating that it might be an-"

"Why do you only pick up the most horrible and action packed news? How many hours have you wasted by filtering the news sources?"

_She knows that that is extremely rude to interrupt someone, but she is far too gone, to think that it isn't respectful, even towards your archnemesis._

"Because these articles are interesting to us, they contain the drama and misery that we consume. A life isn't interesting without it's failures and-"

"We don't need your wasteful lectures."

This time is was Shingen who got interfered by the woman with the ice speech and permafrost eyes. Seiji's eyes stared to Mika who continued with her report and was going to tell some more interesting facts about the current state of this world.

"Because that isn't true, Yuuhei Hanejima and Ruri Hijiribe are also in the city. They are both playing in a detective movie that is in the making over here."

That fact wasn't surprising towards Namie, who had her own confidential sources over here, companies who had agreements with Yagiri-Pharmaceuticals.

"So, that's why my client was apologizing to me. He was apologizing for him," Shingen said to himself, however, it was loud enough for everyone to hear his thoughts.

_He seemed to feel sorry for that guy, but if I am judging on his explanation, then he has the reason to give that person an upper-cut._

The room became silent, while Shingen looked toward the other three with an unidentifiable face, due to his mask.

"It appears that there are things that even our information grabbing stalker doesn't know," the sarcastic comment of the Ice Queen was breaking the silence and got followed with a clever counter from the so-called stalker.

"Or our possessing poisonous sister with her secret sources."

_Well, that means that there are things that only the mighty and mysterious white doctor knows. I kind of like that feeling of being a superhero or supervillain, depending on the circumstances of this world._

The rivalry was noticeable, while Mika knew that she had the ultimate advantage on him.

"If I can remember it, there was a news report that the Japanese actor, Kujiramiga Fushigati, is in the hospital due to an assault. He got punched multiple times and has broken almost all of his bones," Seiji responded. He had heard of the incident, but couldn't connect that news together with Shingen's commentary.

"His smirky face is for people to get the urge to punch him in the face. His personality and behaviour only accelerate the tendency to beat him up," Namie said, her expression wasn't changed in the slightest, she felt no regret for an arrogant actor like Fushigati-sama.

"Miss Yagiri, it seems that you got interest in another man. At least, it is a bit more healthier then your current obsession," Shingen joked and seemingly enjoyed the overly toxic reaction from her.

"I will rip your head off to see what kind of ugly face you actually have under that white mask of yours. Seiji is still the only one for me."

The man where she spoke of had already left the room. Mika still sat there with a big smile on her face, enjoying the discussion between the other two for a certain reason.

"I will leave you two together, I have some other things to do."

While she closed the door, she was already thinking about another rumour that she had heard and which she didn't tell to the other three. She knew that she will have time enough after this to be with Seiji, so she decided to go on an investigation.

An investigation about a female superhero, who made her appearance in the same event as the assassin…

_The next day, at Yvan's apartment..._

The sun was shining through the open window in Yvan's bed room, while it highlighted his naked chest. The wind filled the room with fresh and cold air, which got in contact with almost his whole body, due to the bed blanket that was pushed aside.

His breath was slow but its capacity was enormous in seize and he was lucky that he didn't snore.

_That was a odd, but enjoyable night at Edwin's bar. It's funny, his bar solely works due to mouth-to-mouth communication, it hasn't even a legal name. However, he's a good man and he doesn't have the urge to make huge profit out of people. And it is lovely to hear that Astrid is getting some non-business acquaintances._

The door of his chamber was slowly getting opened with all the strength that the visitor had. Yvan could hear the energetic foot steps coming to him, which made him enjoy life to the fullest.

"Daddy!" his daughter greeted him as enthusiastic as always. With an energetic attitude she jumped, where after a weight of twenty-seven kilo landed on his chest.

"I see that my little darling is already awake and fully dressed. I am glad to see you on this beautiful Sunday morning, but please, get off my stomach."

It wasn't a demand or command, but a simple request from his side. The landing didn't hurt him, in fact, he enjoyed these small burst of recklessness of his own daughter, but it wasn't ideal to step out bed with a seven year old girl on your belly.

She fell next to him on his king sized bed and when she was off the bed completely, she was already running through the living room towards the kitchen.

After a short five minutes, his heavy footsteps were resonating with the old classy oak floor and filled the room with the low sound of feet.

"It's always a feast to spend a whole day with you, but don't feel sad if my body is a bit slow. My youth is long gone and my wild years as an adult too."

Stefana had already covered the table and was eagerly waiting for permission.

"Can I get a slice of bread with chocolate sprinkles?" her voice was categorized in the alt-soprano section and was the proudly owner of an energetic and almost nuclear vibe that was clearly noticeable.

"It's Sunday, so we can slack off a bit," he admitted and buttered their slices of bread.

She couldn't sit still and for most people it was annoying. However, Yvan wasn't bothered by it, because it was better to let her leak some of her nuclear energy, which would result in a more normal bed time for her in the evening.

"Daddy, have you planned something today?" she asked when he was enjoying his cup of tea. It was a drink that could calm him down, when business wasn't going as how he had planned it. It was considered holy by him, together with the unique and exclusive gin of Edwin. He would even believe that it will slow down aging and can ease curses.

_You are right, I have planned something with you. A life lesson if you are eager to know the whole truth._

"Yes, but you need to wait for it. I want to take my time first before we will start with it."

After an hour of warming up for the planned activity, he started by heating the hot air oven and gathering the right ingredients.

"What are you doing?" she asked with wonder and only received a smile from him, no answers.

"Just take a seat and sit down, I want to talk with you about life and some other things related to it," Yvan promised and putted a large plastic bowl on the wooden table in the kitchen.

"Do you remember the three ways for getting a cookie?" he continued with a honest smile and witnessed how she answered his question almost accurate.

"I can accept that I can't reach it and never will reach it. I don't like that option, but it you say that it is true then so be it.

Or I can work hard enough to obtain that cookie, by growing taller and or stronger. I hope that I will be as strong as you one day, but I need to work and train for that to happen.

Or I can wait for the cookie to come to me. Maybe you will hand me one cookie over and then I will grab it with both of my hands."

Yvan was gladly accept to her silly and overly optimistic challenge and started to confess about the things that he has said to her.

"That's right, however, as you might can guess, I haven't chosen one of these options, because there is an extra way to get your cookie."

He observed her eyes, who were becoming bigger and bigger due to the excitement that was filling her body. It almost caused an overload of energy in herself.

"I chose for the fourth option, which is making my own cookies. I have forced my own path in life and I want you to do the same, so today, we are going to bake chocolate chips cookies. Home-made ones are the best ones, don't you think?" he told to her and give her a little blink, a little spark that would ignite the power and spirit in her young body.

"Yeah! Cookies!", she shouted with all her might and immediately followed the instructions that Yvan gave to her.

The butter, the flour, the sugar and the chocolate chips were assembled, mixed and laid on the oven plate, ready to be baked.

"Now it is time to wait, a small twenty minutes," Yvan concluded the instructions and from the core of his heart, he looked with grateful eyes to his own daughter.

_I am thankful to God and Life itself for having such a wonderful child, a barely contained nuclear reactor even mightier than Chernobyl's one and I will make all the decisions in my life with her in the background of my own thoughts. I can only bless life from this point on._

*A note from the fan-author Headphone Headache:

Just a small afterword to finish the whole story.

You may have seen that this is only the beginning, the labeling indicates more volumes and I can guarantee, that I got more ideas than time to write it in one go. So, I will give a small indicator of how much I want to write:

Four Volumes, yep you have read it right. Especially for Uthan Calem I got something juicy and harsh planned for him and for the next arc, there will be a conclusion to one of the side character's story. I have also something planned for Yvan in the future, who will get connected to Durarara! cast with a good reason.

I will close this story with a small love letter to Ryohgo Narita:

Durarara! has sold me on two fronts: I adore the absurdity of all the characters and the way how all the madness is developed through the story. The Narita-verse can be inspirition for more absurd, but entertaining, stories and I want to celebrate the amazing mess that this universe can provide.

Your niche fan-fic authour,

Headphone Headache


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